

                         THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN



                      Quarterly Magazine of the 

                    CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF THE BLIND



Winter, 2001, Volume 45, No. 1



      Published in Braille, Cassette, Diskette, and Large Print 




                     Catherine Skivers, President 
                          836 Resota Street 
                           Hayward, CA 94545
                           510-357-1986 Res.


                           Executive Office:
                             578 B Street
                           Hayward, CA 94541
                             800-221-6359
                             510-537-7877
                            e-mail ccotb@earthlink.net
                           Fax: 510-537-7830
                           www.acb.org/ccb



                 Los Angeles Area Office, John Lopez 
             3925 East 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90023 
                             323-780-3500


                   Sacramento Area Office, Dan Kysor
                       2657 Truxel Road, No. 41
                         Sacramento, CA 95833
                             916-648-3936
                           Fax 916-929-8370
                       E-mail dankysor@jps.net 


Please send all address changes to the Executive Office in
Hayward. 



                       Editor: Winifred Downing
                           1587 38th Avenue
                        San Francisco, CA 94122
                             415-564-5798
                     E-mail wmdowning@mindspring.com




Call the CALIFORNIA CONNECTION at 800-221-6359 for an update on
legislation and CCB events Monday through Friday after 4 p.m. and
all
day on weekends.  At these times it is available also in Spanish.



Nonmembers are requested and members are invited to pay a yearly
subscription fee of $10 toward the printing of THE BLIND
CALIFORNIAN. 





If you or a friend would like to remember the California Council
of the
Blind in your will, you can do so by employing the following
language: 

"I give, devise, and bequeath unto the California Council of the
Blind,
a nonprofit charitable organization in California, the sum of
$---- (or
----) to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind
persons."

If your wishes are more complex, you may have your attorney 
communicate with the Hayward office for other suggested forms.
Thank
you.




                         THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN



                      Quarterly Magazine of the 

                    CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF THE BLIND



Winter, 2001, Volume 45, No. 1



      Published in Braille, Cassette, Diskette, and Large Print 




                     Catherine Skivers, President 
                          836 Resota Street 
                           Hayward, CA 94545
                           510-357-1986 Res.


                           Executive Office:
                             578 B Street
                           Hayward, CA 94541
                             800-221-6359
                             510-537-7877
                            e-mail ccotb@earthlink.net
                           Fax: 510-537-7830
                           www.acb.org/ccb



                 Los Angeles Area Office, John Lopez 
             3925 East 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90023 
                             323-780-3500


                   Sacramento Area Office, Dan Kysor
                       2657 Truxel Road, No. 41
                         Sacramento, CA 95833
                             916-648-3936
                           Fax 916-929-8370
                       E-mail dankysor@jps.net 


Please send all address changes to the Executive Office in
Hayward. 



                       Editor: Winifred Downing
                           1587 38th Avenue
                        San Francisco, CA 94122
                             415-564-5798
                     E-mail wmdowning@mindspring.com




Call the CALIFORNIA CONNECTION at 800-221-6359 for an update on
legislation and CCB events Monday through Friday after 4 p.m. and
all
day on weekends.  At these times it is available also in Spanish.



Nonmembers are requested and members are invited to pay a yearly
subscription fee of $10 toward the printing of THE BLIND
CALIFORNIAN. 





If you or a friend would like to remember the California Council
of the
Blind in your will, you can do so by employing the following
language: 

"I give, devise, and bequeath unto the California Council of the
Blind,
a nonprofit charitable organization in California, the sum of
$---- (or
----) to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind
persons."

If your wishes are more complex, you may have your attorney 
communicate with the Hayward office for other suggested forms.
Thank
you.


                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM THE EDITOR, by Winifred Downing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

PRESIDENT'S CORNER, by Catherine Skivers . . . . . . . . . . . .1

CONVENTION REPORT, FALL 2000, 
     by Keith Black  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

THE VALUES OF VOLUNTEERING, by Jane Kardas . . . . . . . . . . .7

CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES ENHANCE 
     ACCESS FOR VISUALLY HANDICAPPED STUDENTS, 
     by Ralph Black  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

PROGRAM AIMS TO HELP DISABLED VICTIMS
     OF CRIME, submitted by Dan Kysor  . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ACB FUNDRAISING LETTER, by Charles Crawford  . . . . . . . . . 13

CALIFORNIA'S MEAN STREETS, from Lois Thibault, 
     the Access Board  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

NEW HELP FOR DIABETICS, from the Internet  . . . . . . . . . . 16

CAREER CONNECTIONS, A CAREER/JOB FAIR, 
     by Catherine Schmitt Whitaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

FIELD OF BEEPS, by Brian Hall  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

ASSOCIATION ON ULTI-CULTURAL CONCERNS,
     by Teddie Remhild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

CRUCIAL POINTS OF CONTENTION IN 
     DEBATE OVER UEBC,C, by Christopher Gray . . . . . . . . . 23

SUMMARY OF FALL, 2000, CCB RESOLUTIONS,
     by Jeff Thom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE: A CALL TO ACTION,
     by Melita Waters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

WHAT'S NEW IN SACRAMENTO, by Dan Kysor . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

READERS, submitted by Kenneth Frasse . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

FEDERAL LEGISLATION, by Ahmad Rahman . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

BULLETIN BOARD, by Keith Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

SECTION 8 NOW ALLOWS HOMEOWNERSHIP, by Jay 
     Klein, submitted by Gene Lozano . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

IRS DISABILITY-RELATED QUESTIONS,from Lisa Maudlin
     submitted by Roger Petersen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

MY EUROPEAN VACATION: FROM RELUCTANCE TO
     RELISH, by Bonnie Rennie  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

CCB OFFICERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

CCB BOARD OF DIRECTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

CCB PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45


In accepting material for The Blind Californian, priority will be
given to articles concerning the activities and policies of the
California Council of the Blind and to the experiences and
concerns of blind persons.  Recommended length is under 3 pages;
if space constraints make it necessary to divide an article,
every effort will b made to discuss the matter with the author
before publication.   
                         FROM THE EDITOR

                       by Winifred Downing

     Many of the loyal members and friends who contribute
articles for this publication have had the unpleasant experience
of submitting something and then hearing that there wasn't room
to print it or that it had to be divided between two issues
because of space limitations.  Well, this quarter, I, too, have
had that experience.  
     Feeling concerned that many of the talking ATM's are under-
utilized, I figured that I could make employing them easier if I
combined the two lists of cooperating banks and then arranged the
material  in alphabetical order by city.  Working between the two
lists, I spent hours on this task, finally arriving at an 8-page
document; and--you guessed it--there isn't room to include it in
this BC issue.  I am sending it to the office, and perhaps it
will be considered appropriate for our Web site; meanwhile, you
can get information from the office (800-221-6359) and from the
legal team (888-316-8870.)
     At the meeting of the Publications Committee at the
convention in November, the members suggested that I ask you, our
readers, if you want to have a Pen Pals column similar to the one
that appears monthly in the Matilda Ziegler Magazine. 
Individuals seeking correspondents send information about their
education, employment, families, interests, and anything else
they think might suggest a pleasant exchange of letters either on
cassette or in braille.  The person initiating the correspondence
gives his/her address and the preferred medium of exchange.  Do
you think such a column would be appreciated?  Are there any
individuals who would prepare the first Pen Pal letters?  Maybe
you wouldn't want us to use BC space for that purpose, or maybe
you have suggestions for other columns you would like to see.  I
have, as you know, many times expressed a desire for Letters to
the Editor, but only one or two persons responded.  
     Speaking of columns, it is good to have Catherine Schmitt
back with her articles on careers.  She took a vacation just
before her wedding in June; we extend our best wishes for a
healthy and happy life to the Whitakers. 
     At the end of one year and the beginning of another, I thank
all of you who help with the BLIND CALIFORNIAN: those who write
articles, prepare columns regularly, watch for and submit
interesting items from the Internet, rescue me technologically
when I am hopelessly frustrated, and encourage all of us on the
Publications Committee with your corrections when they are needed
and your thoughts for improving the magazine.  
     The deadline for the spring issue is March 1, 2001.


                        PRESIDENT'S CORNER

                       by Catherine Skivers

     As the year 2000 comes to an end, so does my fourth year as
President of the CCB.  I am honored to have been re-elected to
serve you for two more years.  CCB has made, is making, and will
continue to make a difference in California and the nation.  We
are undertaking a comprehensive and far reaching legislative
program in 2001 and will work diligently along with members of
the Blind Alliance for Rehabilitation Change (BARC) and other
Californians to obtain a Commission for the Blind.  We have the
extreme good fortune of having our Commission Bill introduced by
Senator John Burton of San Francisco.  He has helped us many
times, and it is going to be wonderful working with him again. 
You will be hearing from Dan Kysor about the rest of our proposed
legislation.  
     Working on membership, we plan to assist CCB Chapters
already in place and to charter other Chapters and Affiliates. 
Rhonda King will continue as Membership Committee Chair.  She and
her committee have been doing some fine work on the handbook that
should be of great assistance to all members.    
     CCB makes an impression on the national scene.  In the
American Council several affiliates have Californians as their
Presidents: the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss, Teddie
Remhild; ACB Government Employees, Mitch Pomerantz; American
Blind Lawyer Association, Jeff Thom; the Braille Revival League,
Christopher Gray; Library Users of America, Winifred Downing and
Visually Impaired Data Processors International, Frank Welte.  At
our Board of Directors meeting held at the Fall 2000 Convention,
we voted to contribute $10,000 to ACB to help with the many
worthwhile projects you will see listed later in this issue in
the letter from Charles Crawford.  
     I want to thank those of you who have already called to
volunteer to work on committees in 2001.  There is still time for
you to become involved so don't hesitate to contact me
(510-357-1986) or our office (510-537-7877).  
     Our student affiliate is looking great!  The members are
enthusiastic in their effort to bring other students to CCB.  Six
of our scholarship winners attended the fall 200 banquet; but
because of some confusion, they were introduced but not invited
to speak.  Three of them did talk to conventioneers at our Sunday
morning business meeting.  The students are very important to us,
and we will do a better job of introducing them the next time. 
     Our financial position is sound though there is, of course,
always room for more fund raisers.  CCB has entered into a
co-venture agreement with Treasure Life Products, Ltd. through
which we will receive 5% of the company's gross sales.  Mr. David
Heravi, President of the company, was on hand at the convention 
bringing with him many samples of the lovely silk flowers that
are for sale.  He generously donated many of the arrangements as
door prizes, and one was used in our auction following the
banquet.  He and his wife, Jackie, attended the Presidents' 
Dinner, and David spoke to the Board of Directors Thursday
evening.  We can truly be proud of the beautiful products this
company is selling to which we lend our name.
     This report will not be as long as some I have written since
I have the good fortune to have Keith Black, Editor of The
Braille Writer, the publication of the Braille Revival League of
California, as the reporter on the fall 2000 convention.  This is
a big job. and I thank Keith for taking it on.  
     The Spring 2001 Convention of the CCB will be held in
Sacramento, April 18-22, 2001.  April 18th will be utilized to
visit our legislators.  We are hopeful that members of BARC can
join us so that the state capitol will have a large
representation of blind and visually impaired people.  This
Convention will once again be held at the Arden West Hilton
Hotel, located at 2200 Harvard Street, Sacramento.  I had hoped
we would hold our fall 2001 convention in Burbank; however, the
contract has fallen far short of what we can work with so we will
probably return to the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  The dates are
November 1-4, 2001.  As always, I will reserve some rooms for
October 31st for those who want to arrive early.  
     I hope you all had a pleasant Thanksgiving.  Someone said,
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift. 
That's why we call it the present."  Use your present to bring
much happiness and productivity into your life.  This is my hope
for you sent along with the wish for a very Happy Holiday Season
and a great New Year.


                   CONVENTION REPORT, FALL 2000

                          by Keith Black

     The fall 2000 convention took place in the familiar setting
of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.  The first thing of
general interest was the Thursday evening meeting of the CCB
Board of Directors.  An important topic of discussion, as you
might guess, was money.  Both income and expenses have been lower
than projected this year; but the program of investing CCB funds
has been very successful, and the overall picture showed a net
gain in assets for the year.  The Treasurer's report is available
from the office to any member upon request.  
     On Friday afternoon after opening ceremonies, the first
general session began with a presentation by Braille Institute. 
A panel of staff members described the various community
programs, the production of children's books, and the intensive
job preparation, training, and placement  service Braille
Institute is offering.  They have secured the cooperation of many
well known companies in developing this training project, which
is a valuable resource for the Department of Rehabilitation.  
     Next, we heard from Mitzi Friedlander, a narrator of talking
books at the American Printing House for the Blind.  She gave us
a fascinating and humorous portrayal of the work of a narrator
and included a sample reading in her characteristic style.  
     The third item on the agenda was a talk by Debbie Cook,
Chair of ACB's Information Access Committee.  In her remarks, Ms.
Cook described how that committee trains corporate
representatives, Internet providers, and Web masters on making
accessible their Web sites and the software programs for
designing them.  She emphasized the growing importance of this
effort because of the advancing role of technology in our daily
lives.  She firmly believes that such training is helpful because
the designers of Web sites and related software simply do not
know how to make their products accessible to blind and
visually-impaired people.   
     Finally, we heard a presentation by Melody Banks and other
members of the Committee on Domestic Violence.  The Chairman, Dr.
Martin Jones, could not be at the convention; but these members
gave an excellent explanation of the committee's work.  They
provided written and recorded material for conventioneers to pick
up in the exhibit area and told us about the increasing incidence
of "hate crimes" against people with disabilities, as well as
guide dogs and other service animals.  Part of the committee's
function is to train law enforcement officers in recognizing and
dealing with these situations.  
     The second convention session began Friday evening with a
memorial to Ysidro Urena in which his brother, Manuel, and his
close friend, Al Gil,  spoke of Sid's tireless dedication to CCB
and his many legislative accomplishments.  These include his work
on the bills establishing the Program Manager Position in Rehab
and the Guide Dog Board, the measure to improve reader services,
and the bill to save the Orientation Center for the Blind (OCB). 
Next, Elmer Chapson, who was unable to attend the convention, was
honored with a certificate from the Department of Rehabilitation
for his many
years of service on the Blind Advisory Committee.  
     The main business of the evening began with the report of
the Credentials Committee and the roll call of delegates. 
President Skivers postponed the election until later in the
session and announced instead the guest speakers.  
     Melinda Wilson, Chief Deputy Director, addressed the
convention and announced the appointment of Lynda Bardis to be
the Department's Deputy Director in charge of Specialized
Services.  This new division will encompass services for the deaf
and all programs for the blind, including the BEP and OCB.  
     Following an enthusiastic introduction by Ms. Wilson, Lynda
told us that she will focus on "bringing blind services to the
table" with top management for decisions on standards for
placement, budget levels, and hiring of counseling staff.  In
other words, she will see to it that Blind Services gets
attention and resources.  Her style will be to strive for
consensus and consult with advocacy groups in setting policy. 
Finally, Lynda said she will check with other states to learn
what works best in service delivery.  
     In her report to the convention, President Skivers described
CCB's financial condition as good and announced a donation of
$10,000 to ACB.  She spoke proudly of the success of the
Consortium on HIV/AIDS Project and of CCB's expanding
relationships with the Lions Clubs of California.  The most
dramatic news of the day, however, was her announcement that
Senator John Burton has agreed to sponsor the CCB bill to
establish a Commission for the Blind in California.  Cathie also
reported that action on past resolutions has produced good
results, including those concerning BEP, guide dog expenses, an
education consultant for the blind, voting machines, warning
strips at curb ramps, the saving of the ADA, the provision of
technology under Rehab services, and training of Rehab
supervisors.  She pointed out that progress has been made in
making video description more available with new regulations set
forth by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  She urged
all CCB members to write letters of appreciation to the FCC for
the stand taken on  increased hours of audio-described
programming. 
    As a final thought, Cathie asked for suggestions from the
membership on future convention programs.  She also wants to hear
from those who wish to be on particular committees in the coming
year.  
     The last item of business for the evening was the election
of four officers and four Board members.  Officers elected were: 
President, Catherine Skivers; First Vice President,  Jeff Thom;
Treasurer, Peter Pardini; and, filling the vacated position of
Second Vice President, Teddie Remhild.  Board members chosen were
incumbents Rhonda King and Ahmad Rahman; with newly elected
directors  Barbara Kron and Barbara Rhodes.  
     The first half of the Saturday afternoon session was devoted
to legislation.  Ahmad Rahman described recent developments at
the federal level with special emphasis on the ADA, which is
currently under attack in a case to be heard by the Supreme
Court.  He also told us that regulations on descriptive video are
being challenged.  ACB favors a bill that would allow Medicare to
cover orientation and mobility training but opposes a separate
measure which would grant a grace period in meeting compliance
with the ADA.  
     Dan Kysor reported on the current status of several
California bills of interest to CCB.  Those signed into law dealt
with requirements for tactile signs, expanded service allowed for
optometrists, infant eye testing, workplace accommodation, and
handicapped parking placards.  Those vetoed by the Governor
included a braille bill with added assessment provision and
increased responsibilities for publishers in providing materials
for easier accessibility, mandates with regard to library
computer equipment, and a statewide assessment for telephone
newspaper reading services.  Measures killed in legislative
committees involved provision of low-vision equipment under
Medi-Cal, a state version of the ADA on public accommodations,
and special education books and equipment funding.  
     The next speaker was Madelyn Dovano, director of Visual
Voice-Audio Description Services.  She told of a large number of
plays, concerts, and other events being described and said she
has participated in over 500 such descriptions.  Ms. Dovano
believes that audio captioning will become still more common in
video and TV productions.  
    Following Ms. Dovano's remarks, we heard from Kenneth Frasse,
representing Sensory Access Foundation, where he is in charge of
training and placement services.  Kenneth  described the strong
fourteen-week vocational training program and the very successful
placement component provided by SWIFT under a service contract
with
Rehab.  He explained their "job cluster" approach to preparing
clients for work by teaching them to use adaptive hardware and
software that will provide access to systems found at cooperating
companies where the related jobs are available.  
     The last item on the agenda for Saturday afternoon was a
presentation by Gil Johnson, Director of the Western Regional
Office of the American Foundation for the Blind, and by Program
Associate Tony Candela.  Gil said that his office is focused on
employment for the blind and visually impaired, producing several
publications aimed at employers and at those seeking jobs. 
Candela outlined the kinds of training AFB already offers and the
network of resources being assembled to help with employment. 
There will be registers of cooperative employers, accommodations
needed, technology trainers, and job-specific mentors available.  
    Gil and Tony emphasized the value of a state commission for
the blind similar to those already established in other states. 
They also stressed the importance of input by blind consumers to
help bring about a commission in California.  
     The convention banquet is always a high point for most
attendees, and the same held true this time.  Rick Plate was the
M.C. and did a great job with humor and enthusiasm.  The featured
speaker was Terry Pyococci from the ACB National Office, who
reminded her listeners that we, as blind people, educate the
public every day by belonging to social and work groups in the
community.  The rest of the evening was devoted to awards. 
Chairman of the Scholarship Committee Al Biegler announced 20
scholarship winners and introduced those who were able to attend
the convention.  The total CCB monetary commitment came to
$27,000 this year.  President Skivers then presented a 50-year
membership pin to Jewel McGinnis and announced those being
awarded to Manual Urena and Pat Byrnes.  She also named several
recipients of 25-year pins: Andy Barraco, Ethel Kirtley, Jane
Williams, Donna Sanchez, Nellie Glaze-Emerson, Alice Parkinson,
and Mack Riley.  The other main item of business was the awarding
of a charter to the new CCB chapter in Bakersfield.  Festivities
closed with Obbie Shoeman's performance as auctioneer trumpeting
the virtues of a wide variety of gifts and supervising often
heated competitions between would-be buyers.  
          
     The fourth general session began on Sunday morning with the
Treasurer's report, repeating the information given at the board
meeting.  The Constitution and By-laws Committee introduced a
proposed change, adopted by the convention without opposition,
establishing a Personnel Committee.  Six substantive items were
recommended by the Resolutions Committee, and all were passed on
a voice vote.  A summary of the resolutions appears later in this
issue.  
     The session ended with the reports of other committees,
describing their recent activities and plans for the future.   
The convention then adjourned after a very busy four days.  

 
                    THE VALUES OF VOLUNTEERING    

                          by Jane Kardas

     Because I am a member of the committee for Project Insight,
Joyce Kleiber asked me to share with others the experience of my
vision loss and my progress in my own personal recovery.  She
also suggested that I explain how this experience has led me on
my mission to do the volunteer work in which I find myself so
involved today, as well as the many aspects and rewards the work
presents to me.
     Thirteen years ago on April 24, 1987, I lost my sight
following a total respiratory arrest.  This episode was caused by
a severe asthma attack.  Actually, I was clinically dead for an
extended period of time, causing swelling in the brain which in
turn caused pressure on the optic nerve.  I was resuscitated by
paramedics and immediately transferred by ambulance to the
intensive care unit of Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz,
California.  Oddly enough, I have no memory whatsoever of this
event.  In the beginning, I was totally blind; and the nerve
center in the brain which affected my optic nerve also left me
with no use of my arms or hands.  I could not feed or dress
myself nor deal with everyday tasks.
     I find it amusing that doctors, and in particular
psychiatrists, were arriving in my room with questions such as,
"Did you see the light?" and "Did you have an out-of-the-body
experience?"  My response each time was, "If I did, I have no
recollection."
     Just prior to my accident, I had been working as a counselor
for the District Attorney's office in Santa Cruz in the Victim
Witness program.  Along with counseling, court assisting was an
important part of my job.  Although it was often frustrating, I
found the position to my liking, and on some occasions, most
rewarding.
     When I didn't arrive at work as usual, no one knew what had
happened to me.  Because my family was attending to me at the
hospital, no one notified my office.  

     Things that were second nature to me suddenly became
insurmountable obstacles!  As I slowly began to recover some of
my faculties, I felt an overwhelming urge to be a vital part of
society once again.  It was most important to me to make a
personal contribution.  
     I discovered a need for volunteers within The Alzheimer's
Association, which was a great cover for me, since I could
assist, via the telephone,  people whose spouses had Alzheimer's
without disclosing  my own blindness.  
     I was most uncomfortable on my first telephone contact when
I spoke to a gentleman who found tremendous devastation in his
wife's illness.  He talked for an hour and a half, recounting how
they had met, the story of their romance, the births of their two
sons and the terrible loss of her companionship that he was
feeling. In addition, a woman soon contacted me whose husband was
suffering from the same disease.  I felt a tremendous sense of
pride and value in working with these two couples.  
     I am ashamed to admit it now, but when the gentleman asked
me, "Jane, why didn't you tell me you are blind?" I felt totally
devastated.  I suppose you could say that this was a day that I
found myself face to face with my own disability.  It took me
some time to realize that the severity of my visual impairment
had nothing to do with my ability to serve mankind.
     Five years later, I attended the Orientation Center for the
Blind in Albany, California, and began to re-establish my
self-esteem.  It wasn't an easy process for me to learn to seek
help; and in the beginning, I could not imagine what I could have
in common with a group of thirty-six other blind adults and a
staff of instructors.  Was I ever wrong!  I am now president of
the Alumni Association of the Orientation Center and attest to
its value whenever I can. 
     After ten months there in which I learned independent living
skills and, most importantly, cane travel, I wanted to share my
experience and make it a positive affirmation for helping others. 
Without boring readers with all the details, I will mention just
a few of the things in which I am involved. 
     First of all, is peer counseling, helping other newly
blinded persons through personal example and sharing my own
experience.  Because of this work, I have received certification
in peer counseling.  I also attended extensive courses to receive
certification in mediation.
     I am a member of the Executive Board of the California
Council of the Blind, as well as of the California Council of
Citizens with Low Vision, and The Council of Citizens with Low
Vision International.  At last count I am involved in
approximately 18 different service organizations concerning the
visually impaired.  I find myself looking forward to my eighth
year as a participant and guide in Barrier Awareness Day, which
takes place annually in Sonoma County, California.  I hope to
write about this experience in a future article.
     In the last 13 years I have gone from total blindness to
seeing black and white and finally color.  I am still unable to
drive a car or read, but I have found my values in other things. 
Although my vision is not clear, rather like a muted Monet
painting, I find tremendous gratification in the things I can do. 
If you know of others who have lost their vision through oxygen
deprivation, I would be most interested in hearing from them. 
Contact me by mail, telephone or fax, and, coming soon, e-mail,
at Jane Kardas, 810 Maple Avenue, Ukiah, CA 95482; phone or fax:
707-468-5510.


              CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES ENHANCE 
              ACCESS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS

                 by Ralph Black, General Counsel,
                    Office of the Chancellor, 
                 California Community Colleges  

     In 1976, the Legislature passed AB77 which provided
permanent funding for Disabled Students Programs and services
(DSP&S) at each of the 107 community colleges throughout the
state.  Starting in the mid 1980's, many colleges also
established High Tech Centers to make adaptive computer
technology available to their students.  Nevertheless, access to
print and electronic information for blind students has lagged
behind.  Most students have had to rely on taped books or
readers, and many of the computer labs and electronic databases
that other students routinely used were inaccessible. 
     Now that's beginning to change.  In the past year, the
California Community College system has taken a number of
important steps aimed at improving access to print and electronic
information resources for blind and visually impaired students.
     In August, 1999, the State Chancellor's Office, which
oversees the community college system, issued guidelines telling
colleges how to go about making their web sites, web-based
instruction, and other forms of distance education accessible. 
The guidelines called on colleges to comply with standards for
Web accessibility developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. 
They also require colleges to review the curriculum for their
courses as part of the accreditation cycle and make any changes
necessary to ensure that software and other instructional
materials are accessible for visually impaired students.
     In April, we issued another set of guidelines instructing
colleges about their obligation to make printed materials
available in alternate media such as braille, large print, or
electronic text.  These guidelines will assist colleges in
implementing a new law, Assembly Bill 422, which was enacted in
1999.  That bill, sponsored by Californians for Disability Rights
and supported by the California Council of the Blind, requires
publishers of college textbooks and other instructional materials
to make those materials available in electronic form when so
requested by a public college or university for the purpose of
making them accessible to students with disabilities.  
     However, the guidelines issued by the Chancellor's Office go
well beyond the implementation of AB422.  They emphasize that
colleges have the obligation to make textbooks available in
alternate media even if the electronic text cannot be obtained
from a publisher under AB422.  Moreover, the guidelines also
require colleges to make materials produced in-house, such as
test, handouts, syllabi, course schedules, and college catalogs
available in accessible form upon request.
     The next major phase of the effort to enhance access for
blind students occurred last fall.  The budget considered by the
Legislature for fiscal year 2000-2001 provided funding for each
college to purchase the equipment needed to produce materials in
braille.  In addition, the Chancellor's Office also plans to be
able to award a grant to one of the community college districts
to establish a statewide alternate media center which would
produce materials in braille, large print, and electronic text
for all colleges in the system.  Once this statewide center is
operational (probably by the middle of 2001), the production of
materials in alternate media for blind and visually impaired
community college students will be much simpler and expeditious.
     Also last fall, for the first time, electronic notetakers
(equipped with speech output and a refreshable braille display)
were available for loan.  Several units were purchased and housed
at the statewide High Tech Center Training Unit at De Anza
College in Cupertino.  A blind student who needs such a notetaker
can contact the DSPS office at the college he or she is
attending, and the DSPS staff can request one of the notetakers 
to loan to the student.  While many students may already have
such equipment, this new program will make this invaluable
technology available to at least a limited number who could not
otherwise obtain it.
     Finally, access is being considered as the community college
system looks at its technology needs for the longer term future. 
a long-range technology plan is now being developed which will be
submitted to the Legislature for funding sometime in the next
year.  As presently envisioned, that plan calls for approximately
10% of all computer work stations, located throughout the campus,
to be fully accessible for students with disabilities.  If this
plan is funded and implemented as currently proposed, blind and
visually impaired students will have access to adaptive
technology in the library, computer labs, or anywhere  else
students need to use computers on campus.
     There is much more to do and there is no guarantee that all
these plans will be implemented flawlessly at each of the
locally-controlled colleges throughout the state.  However, for
the first time, the community college system as a whole has made
a clear and conscious commitment to ensuring access to print and
electronic information for blind and visually impaired students. 
     The guidelines concerning access to distance education and
production of materials in alternate media may be obtained from
the High Tech Center Training Unit Web site at www.htctu.fhda.edu
or by calling the Legal Affairs Division of the Chancellor's
Office at 916-445-4826.


          PROGRAM AIMS TO HELP DISABLED VICTIMS OF CRIME

                      submited by Dan Kyson

     (Taken from The San Jose Mercury News, Saturday, July 8,
2000; by Linda Goldston: "Program aimed to help disabled crime
victims: California to become first state to address often
misunderstood issue.")
     California is set to become the first state in the nation
with a program aimed at dealing with violence and crimes against
people with disabilities.
     Funding for the Crime Victims with Disabilities Initiative
was proposed by Gov. Gray Davis during his campaign and included
in the 2000-01 budget just signed.
     Crime and disability experts say the problem has largely
been ignored despite several studies showing that people with
disabilities are four to ten times more likely to be victims of
violence and major crimes than the general public.  The majority
of those crimes are never reported, experts and officials said.
     Only $739,000 is budgeted for the program, but "it's a
beginning," said Daniel D. Sorensen, Chairman of the California
Victims of Crime Committee, a coalition of social service, legal
and activist organizations formed to "stop crime against and
achieve justice for people with disabilities.  The biggest
challenge in this whole area is getting these crimes reported." 
     A study on the needs of victims is under way in Santa Clara
County by the Committee to Prevent Violence Against People With
Disabilities.  The group is an offshoot of the county's Violence
Prevention Task Force.
     "We're planning hearings for later this year to gather
information and stories from crime victims with disabilities to
find out what their needs are," said Cynthia Waddell, who is
co-chair of the committee as well as the disability access
coordinator for the city of San Jose. 
     National studies consistently have shown that people with
disabilities, especially children, are raped or abused at much
higher rates than the general public but services to help them
have been non-existent until recently.
     "We are completely in the dark ages on this," said Nora
Baladarian, a psychologist in Los Angeles and one of the early
researchers to look at the issue.
     "We do not effectively inform children and adults with
disabilities what abuse is--that most perpetrators are people you
live with or are at school with or ride on the bus with.  We do
not respond properly when it is learned that abuse has occurred
and we do not help the victims and the victims' families
properly."
     According to the funding request for the Crime Victims with
Disabilities Initiative, prosecution of these crimes is limited
by several factors:
     * Victims may have difficulty understanding the nature of
the crime or may not understand that it can and should be
reported to authorities.
     * Victims may have difficulty in communicating, because of
sensory or speech deficits.  Police, sheriffs and others
frequently are untrained in the skills necessary to interview
crime victims with disabilities.
     * Victims with substantial disabilities are sometimes viewed
as unreliable witnesses or witnesses who can be easily confused
by defense attorneys, resulting in few prosecutions of the
crimes.
     * Some officials view crime against people with disabilities
as less serious than crime against non-disabled people.
     "It makes me crazy with rage that people with developmental
disabilities are looked upon as people who aren't affected as
badly by violence as others or the belief that hey, that's what
happens in those people's lives," said Peggy Jones Sandidge of
Riverside, whose 34-year-old autistic son was raped.
     "As if somehow it doesn't count the same as it does for
non-disabled."
     The social and criminal justice system--including the many
agencies that provide services to disabled children and
adults--has been so reluctant to deal with crime and violence
against people with disabilities that many victims and families
believe it's useless to even try to report the crimes, according
to nearly two dozen experts interviewed around the state.
     For some victims, that means keeping the whole ordeal to
themselves most of their lives. Either they had no one to tell or
no one would believe them.
     "I was too scared to report," said Elizabeth, a 34-year-old
autistic woman who was raped at a Northern California group home
by another student when she was 14.
     Finally, she was able to talk to a rape crisis counselor six
years ago.
     "I'd been waiting all my life," she said.  "It was like
carrying a ton of bricks and never getting to put it down."
     As proposed, the Crime Victims with Disabilities Initiative
will focus on education and awareness and trying to coordinate
efforts among local and state agencies that serve people with
disabilities.
     It calls for the hiring of a crime victim specialist and
pilot programs in six to eight counties aimed at improving
techniques in interviewing witnesses and investigating and
prosecuting the cases.  Crime victim specialists in the pilot
program also will work closely with regional centers, county
mental health agencies, independent living centers and group
homes, where much of the abuse occurs.  Counties for the pilot
programs have not yet been named.  
     "When a person is dependent upon another for food, clothing,
shelter and all social interaction, that dependency prevents him
or her from resisting abuse," said Joan Petersilia, a Professor
of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of
California-Irvine's School of Social Ecology.
     Petersilia also is co-director of the first major U.S. study
on crime against people with disabilities that is due to be
presented to Congress sometime this summer.  The two-year study
was mandated after passage of the federal Crime Victims with
Disabilities Act in 1998.  When therapy programs are targeted at
people with disabilities, the response has included many victims
of crime.
     "In the first three months, I got nearly 300 referrals,"
said Sue Doyle-Mirzadeh, a mental health therapist recently hired
by Easter Seals Superior California.  "I have a lot of people who
were raped 20 to 50 years ago and never got to talk about it. 
Two of the people I'm seeing were kept in closets as children,
and one was kept in a garage.  It's heartbreaking."
     Lynnette Goldstein, director of prevention services for
Easter Seals Superior California, said her agency got involved in
the issue after receiving a grant to teach family life to special
education students.
     "It became quickly apparent there was a high degree of abuse
going on by care givers and a lot of domestic violence by couples
in relationships and there was really nothing being done."  In
some cases, individuals have formed their own programs.
     Julie Rems-Smario of Hayward flew to Seattle to be trained
by an organization in how to best provide victim assistance to
deaf victims of domestic violence.  She formed Deaf Women Against
Violence, which now has 23 members who work on a volunteer basis
with victims in the Bay Area.  The group hopes to find funding or
enough donations to expand and hire a staff.
     "If we get funding, we will be the first deaf-run agency for
victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in the entire
state of California," Rems-Smario said.  "It's 2000--time to see
this situation change."


                     ACB FUNDRAISING LETTER  

                       by Charles Crawford

Dear Members and Friends of ACB,
     I wanted to pass along this note of thanks from all of us at
the American Council of the Blind for the financial and moral
support that you have shown us through your contributions in the
past.  While we very much appreciate your financial assistance,
we want you to know that your caring enough to help has been most
reassuring as we work hard to accomplish our goals.  Here are
some stunning examples of the kind of success we have had this
past year, and you helped to make it happen.
     * After 15 years of ACB advocacy, we finally got the rule
promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission that will
allow blind persons to have access to the visual happenings on
television through a technology called video description.  Now
blind people will be able to join with the rest of the family to
watch television and hear descriptions of the visual elements
over a secondary audio channel.  This basically means that a
blind person who has watched a video described television program
will be as able as anyone else to thoroughly enjoy the program
and discuss it with anyone else who may have seen it.
     * A multi-year effort on the part of the American Council of
the Blind has resulted in the soon to be published standards to
define an accessible pedestrian signal.  This will usher in the
ability of cities and towns to install these signaling devices
where the push button for the walk signal is.  They will let a
blind person know when the walk sign is on and, thereby, allow
the person to have access to the same critical information that
all pedestrians must rely upon.  This will save lives.
     * ACB and our partners worked hard to help develop a
comprehensive set of regulations to define accessible electronic
environments for federal agencies and Web sites.  This work has
resulted in the publishing of the regulations, and more Web sites
are becoming usable by blind users each day.  If the future is on
the Internet, you have helped us take our rightful place in that
future and we thank you.
     * ACB has launched a highly successful set of internet radio
stations that provide up-to-date technology information and
blindness-related news, a compilation of all music produced by
blind artists, and a showcase of old-time radio shows for
entertainment.  The audio streams are always busy with listeners
from all over the world; and as internet audio streaming
 becomes available on desk top radios, our audiences will grow
even larger.
     All of the above means one thing:  We have moved access to
the mainstream and to our community by leaps and bounds in a
single year, and you have been a part of it.  Now we need to ask
you for your continuing support as we face all the challenges
that still remain before us.
     Your support will help provide positive answers to many
important questions that must be addressed.  These include making
sure that braille literacy is preserved for blind school children
and adults who lose vision, assuring that sufficient qualified
training in assistive technology and equipment are available to
help blind folks live more independently and become employed,
ensure that there is more transportation available to advance our
freedom of movement, make sure that governmental programs such as
Social Security are administered and provide benefits on a fair
basis, protect our civil rights to participate in society from
the voting booth to the enjoyment of public accommodations to
working free of discrimination, having the opportunity to live in
decent housing, and more.
     Please join with us in taking on the challenges of the
future as you have helped us succeed in the past.  Mail your
check made out to the American Council of the Blind and send it
along to 1155 15th St., NW, Suite 1004, Washington DC 20005.  We
thank you and wish you good health and every success as we move
forward to make a better tomorrow for everyone. 

 Sincerely,
 Charles H. Crawford, Executive Director



                    CALIFORNIA'S MEAN STREETS

                   Lois Thibault, Access Board 
                         October 2, 2000 

     New Report Ranks Most Dangerous Places for Pedestrians:   A
new report released today by the Surface Transportation Policy
Project finds that "pedestrians throughout California are in
serious danger navigating streets and intersections that are
increasingly built for speed and traffic."  According to the
report, "Dangerous by Design: Pedestrian Safety in California,"
Sacramento, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Santa Clara and San Mateo
are the state's five most dangerous counties for 1999.  The
report concludes that regions characterized by rapid growth and
sprawling suburban-style development, with wide streets and
fast-moving traffic, typically pose the worst problem.
     Los Angeles tops the report's rankings for the most
pedestrians killed and injured; 203 pedestrians were killed and
5,377 were injured--more than one-third of the total number of
pedestrians hit by cars in the state.  San Francisco has the
highest injury rate statewide as well as the highest percentage
of all traffic fatalities that are pedestrians.  Counties that
climbed from previous years' rankings on the "Pedestrian Danger
Index" include San Joaquin, Ventura, San Bernardino and San
Francisco counties.
     The report indicates that, while pedestrians account for
nearly 20 percent of all traffic fatalities statewide, the state
spends less than one percent of its federal transportation funds
protecting them;  $40 per person is spent on highway projects in
the state, four cents per person on pedestrian projects.  In 1999
alone, pedestrian accidents cost the state nearly $4 billion in
lost productivity and medical expenses while government agencies
spend only a fraction of that on prevention.
     Exacerbating the lack of funding is a new "crosswalk removal
policy" now widespread across the state.  Transportation
officials have been removing marked crosswalks and suggest that
they provide pedestrians with a"false sense of security."  Yet,
once crosswalks are removed, pedestrians are left to fend for
themselves.
     According to the report, state hospitalization records show
Latinos and African Americans, especially children, are at the 
highest risk from pedestrian-vehicle collisions.  A
disproportionate number of pedestrians who are hospitalized are
also low-income.  
     The report makes a number of recommendations to address
pedestrian safety, including:
     * Dedicate a fair share of traffic safety funding to
pedestrians.  Legislation could provide an additional $35 million
a year in traffic safety funding targeted towards bicyclists and
pedestrians;
     * Suspend California's crosswalk removal policy.  California
should develop a new minimum design standard for crosswalks that
includes "zebra" striping and overhead lighting or flashing
signals;
     * Consider pedestrians during the design of every project. 
Communities must be designed so that people can walk safely;
     * Collect more information on pedestrians.  Lack of
information makes pinpointing underlying problems and solutions
difficult; and
     * Develop a statewide blueprint for bicycling and walking. 
Dozens of towns and cities around the country have begun
implementing newer pedestrian safety measures to reduce
fatalities and injuries, often in conjunction with urban and
suburban revitalization efforts.  Measures like sidewalks,
lighted crosswalks, bike paths and walking trails that are
accessible to people with disabilities as well as traffic calming
programs.


                      NEW HELP FOR DIABETICS

     The Diabetes Supply Center Bryan has been in business over 
12 years serving the diabetic population.  We feel there is a
need for visually impaired diabetics to be independent!  
     The Diabetes Supply Center Bryan now has a voice module to
go with Lifescan's One Touch Blood Glucose Monitor.  We have
named the new module The GlucoVoice.
     We have sold a variety of other voice modules over the years
and have tried to reduce the problems associated with them.  We
will do all we can to place a customer with a GlucoVoice.  We
will work with the local pharmacy, insurance company, state
agency or Medicare provider.  If the customer is on Medicare and
does not have a local DME provider, we have mail order companies
in place that will file on Medicare for them and provide
supplies.  Of course, the customer may always buy direct from us.
     The following is a description of The GlucoVoice. 
     Size:    1.5 inches tall - 4 1/4 inches long- 3 1/8 inches
wide 
     Voice: The English voice is male.  The Spanish Voice is
female (both voices are programmed into the unit) 
     Purpose: The GlucoVoice will speak what flashes across the
One Touch's screen.

     General: One year warranty, snaps together with One Touch to
make one unit, has 5 volume levels, ear bud, 9-volt battery, uses
standard One Touch test strips and includes free One Touch
glucometer.
     Cost: Introductory price, $295.00. Price includes shipping. 
Diabetes Supply Bryan, Raymond Wood, 3503 South College Ave.,
Bryan, TX 77801; 979-775-7819; e-MAIL RAYMONDW@TCA.NET      


              CAREER CONNECTIONS: A CAREER/JOB FAIR

                  by Catherine Schmitt Whitaker 

     One of the best ways to network with employers is by
attending a career/job fair.  A career/job fair is an event where
many employers are located in a large room and job seekers travel
around the room to speak with employers of interest.  The set-up
is much like the exhibit hall at an ACB national convention.  You
may feel comfortable navigating the room after a brief overview
from a person at the registration table, or maybe you would like
to take along a friend for company and assistance.  Either way,
dress professionally, take resumes, be optimistic and have a
positive attitude.        
     Your local newspaper or university may sponsor career/job
fairs in your community on an annual basis.  If you have not
heard of one, contact your newspaper company and the local
university to inquire.  If they do sponsor a career/job fair,
inquire as to what fields and who the employers are who will be
attending.  Also, ask if there is a charge for the event.  Many
fairs will be free; and if one does charge, it should be only a
couple of dollars.      
     To be well prepared for your career/job fair experience,
consider the tips from Sally Kearsley on how to have a successful
career/job fair experience presented at the Jobweb Web site:
http://www.jobweb.com/tools/default.com. 
     Five Things to Take to a Career Fair: 1. Copies of your
resume (25 to 40 depending on the size of the event).  Be sure it
represents your knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)
effectively.  It needs to look professional--easy to read format
on plain white or cream colored paper--and free of typos.  If you
are looking at several career options, you may want to have two
or more targeted resumes with different career objectives.
     2. A smile, a strong handshake, and a positive attitude. 
First impressions are important.  Approach an employer, smile,
and offer your hand when you introduce yourself.  
      3. A 30-second "sales pitch."  Hand the recruiter a copy of
your resume and be prepared to expand on it quickly.  Share basic
information about yourself and your career interests like this:  
     "Hello, I'm Carrie Jones.  I'm a senior here at Wonderful
University, and I'm majoring in English.  I'm very interested in
a marketing career.  As you can see on my resume, I just
completed an internship in the Marketing Division of the ABC
Company in Peoria.  I've also taken some courses in business
marketing, and I'm very interested in talking with you about
marketing opportunities in your organization."  
     4. Information about the organizations which will be
attending.  Gather information as you would for a job interview. 
To maximize the brief time you have with each employer, you need
to know how your skills and interests match their needs, and
don't concentrate on the only "big names."  There are often great
opportunities with companies with which you have not been
familiar.  
     5. Energy!  Career fairs require you to be on your feet,
moving from table to table for an hour or so.  Since each time
you meet someone, you will want to be at your best, as pleasant
and comfortable as possible. 
     Five Things Not to Do at a Career Fair: 1. Don't cruise the
booths with a group of friends.  Interact with the recruiters on
your own.  Make your own positive impression!  
     2. Don't carry your backpack, large purse, or other
paraphernalia with you.  Carry your resume in a
professional-looking portfolio, or a small briefcase works well.
Your resume will be kept neat and easy to find, and you will have
a place to file business cards of recruiters that you meet. 
Usually you can stow your coat, backpack, or other gear in a
coatroom.  
     3. Don't come dressed for rugby practice or any other
extremely casual activity.  A career fair is a professional
activity--perhaps your first contact with a future employer.  
     4. Don't "wing it" with employers.  Do your homework! 
Research the companies just as you would in preparing for an
interview.  You'll be able to focus on why you want to work for
the organization and what you can do to be of value.   
     5. Don't arrive during the last half hour of the event. 
Many employers have come a long distance to attend the fair and
may need to leave early.  If you come late, you may miss the
organization that you had wanted to contact.
     Five Things to Take Away From a Career Fair: 1. Business
cards from the recruiters you have met.  Use the cards to write
follow-up notes to those organizations which most interested you. 
     2. Notes about contacts you made.  Take writing materials
with you to write down important details about particular
organizations, including names of people who may not have had
business cards.  Take a few minutes after you leave each table to
jot down these notes.
     3. Information about organizations you have contacted.  Most
recruiters will have information for you to pick up, including
company brochures, computer diskettes or CD's, position
descriptions, and other data.  You won't have time to deal with
these at the fair.
     4. A better sense of your career options.  If you use the
event correctly, you will contact several organizations that hire
people with your skills and interests.  In thinking about their
needs and your background, consider whether each company might be
a match for you.  
     5. Self-confidence in interacting with employer
representatives.  A career fair gives you the opportunity to
practice your interview skills in a less formidable environment
than a formal interview.  Use this experience to practice talking
about what you have done, what you know, and what your interests
are. 


                          FIELD OF BEEPS

                         by Brian L. Hall

     Beep! Beep!  The sound came out of the darkness.  Beep! It
came straight at my head.  It was getting louder.  I swung the
bat.  The beeping thing whizzed past my ear.
     "Stee-rike!" the voice behind me said.
     I repositioned myself and got ready for the next pitch. 
     "Ready!" the pitcher yelled in warning.
     I tensed up.  I wished I could tear off my blindfold.  The
aluminum bat felt sweaty in my hands.  I tried to relax.
     "Ball!" the pitcher said.  Beep! Beep!  The beeping ball
flew toward me.  I swung and this time connected.  The bat hit
the ball so hard that my hands hurt, and the metal vibrated with
a thrum clear through my fingertips.
     "Fair!" the umpire yelled.  I stopped and listened, not yet
knowing which way to run.  When the base to the right of me began
buzzing, I dropped the bat and ran full tilt toward the noise. 
The base buzzed like a giant, angry wasp.
     I touched the base, a modified traffic cone.  Inside the
cone was the source of the noise, a sound device from a smoke
detector.
     We were playing beep baseball, or beepball as it's commonly
known, a sport patterned after baseball but designed for the
blind or visually impaired. 
     Such memories came flooding back during the recent Braille
Institute Southern California Beepball Championship, the first
such tournament in a decade, according to Braille Institute
staff.  It was the first time I'd attended a beepball game as a
reporter and spectator rather than as a player.  
     The Nov. 11 tournament at Anaheim's Modjeska Park pitted
four teams of Braille Institute students against one another: the
L.A. Quakes, the Santa Barbara Maniacs and two Orange County
teams, the Stingrays 1 and 2.  
     At the season-ending championship, players hit the ball off
a tee. All batters and fielders wore blindfolds or bandannas to
cover their eyes, regardless of how much or how little eyesight
they possessed.    
     In my day, batters often were pitched to as in regular
baseball.  The young players used a batting tee.  Unlike
baseball, the batter and pitcher were on the same team, and the
pitcher strove to aim the ball at the tip of the bat. 
     The game has changed little in the 17 years since I hung up
my team jersey.  The technology has advanced.  Better sound
devices are used to buzz the bases, and four-foot-tall styrofoam
pylons have taken the place of traffic cones; but the spirit and
excitement of the game remain the same.
     "I like this because it's a game we can play.  It's our 
 game," said 12-year-old, George Callahan of the Stingrays 1. 
After months of batting and base-running practice, Callahan had
just hit his first homerun in an actual game.  "And it felt
great.  I smacked the ball and ran, saying, 'Please God, let me
get to that base."
     While he ran for the base, seven fielders in numbered zones
scrambled in the direction of the ball. A sighted "spotter"
called out the zone nearest to the ball. The player in that zone
attempted to pick up the ball and hold it in the air before
Callahan reached the base. 
     Callahan's teammates cheered as he returned to the dugout,
and the Stingrays 1 captain patted him on the back.  
     Beepball imparts some important lessons, said John Zamora,
the Youth and Career Coordinator for the Orange County Braille
Institute.  
     "It teaches players about competition, sportsmanship,
rooting for your team and continuing to play even after you get
hurt," he said.  "It's unique to have so many kids playing the
game at this age level.  I don't know of any other organized
program for this age group in the country."
     Laura Diaz, age 9, unwittingly illustrated one of Zamora's
points when she became distracted while running for a base. 
Umpires typically activate by remote control the electronic
buzzer on a base as soon as a ball is declared fair.  The day of
the tournament, however, the buzzers weren't working, so coaches
and umpires had to blow whistles to indicate the location of the
base.  
     Diaz said she temporarily lost her concentration when
players and spectators on the sidelines began clapping for her,
sending her off course.  She crashed into the chain-link
backstop, slightly injuring the areas around her neck and one
eye.  
     Immediately team members rushed to her aid.  "Are you okay?"
they asked. "What happened?"  Dusting herself off, Diaz answered,
"Yeah, I'm okay."  It was determined that she had only sustained
minor scrapes and would be all right, apart from a little
predicted swelling the following day. Diaz re-entered the game
and continued to score points for the Stingrays 1.  Her team
emerged the champions at the end of the day.
     "She's a strong girl," said fellow Stingray, Raenell
Weatherspoon, age 15.  "I admire the way she got right back out
there.  That's what I like about this game.  It makes you feel
like you can do something."
     The winners cheered for each of the losing teams and shook
hands with their opponents.  Chris Anderson, the 17-year-old team 
captain of the Stingrays 1,  urged his players to be good sports
about their victory. 
     Even former players feel their childhood experiences with
beepball have impacted them positively.       
     Sam Katz, 38, played in the 1980s for the L.A. Braille
Institute team and has remained friends with several of the
players of that era.
     "The game builds confidence and a feeling of camaraderie
that carries over into the rest of your life," said Katz. "It
teaches you how to work with people."   
     Joe Wood, president of the National Beep Baseball
Association, (NBBA), agrees that the game provides a boost in
self-esteem when played at any age. 
    "Beepball gives players the guts to fight," he said.  "It
allows us to participate in the national pastime--our version of
it."
     Wood was athletic before he lost his sight 20 years ago.  He
vowed that blindness wouldn't stop  him, and beepball became his
sport of choice.  The NBBA is the organization representing adult
teams; it sponsors the annual World Series of Beepball, which
will be held next in Cleveland.  The number of teams entering the
World Series has been on the decline over the past several years,
because of the cost of travel and equipment.  In August the
athletes ventured to Tiawan for the 2000 World Series. Even the
balls cost $25 apiece.  They are 16 inches in circumference,
which is larger than a softball, and weigh in at about a pound. 
They are specially engineered and contain delicate circuitry
similar to that found in a telephone. 
    The balls take a lot of abuse from the bat, and it's not
uncommon to go through a couple of beep balls in a single game. 
The balls are prone to breakage, or as players like to put it, to
"getting the beep knocked out of them."   
     Sponsorship by individuals and corporations is needed to
keep the game alive.  Another factor causing the decline in
beepball is that so many blind and visually impaired children are
being mainstreamed.
     "Some adaptive physical education teachers don't know about
team sports for the blind, or they have so many different
disabilities in their classes that they can't always tailor the
program as much to the blind and  visually impaired," said Keith
Christian, a former vice president of Orange County, CCB and a
teacher of students with visual impairments at Nobel Middle
School in Chatsworth.
     An infusion of new blood is necessary for the survival of
the sport.  Most players in the NBBA are in their 20s and 30s,
but some are playing well into their 50s. 
     "Beepball is in jeopardy, and young people are its future,"
remarked Wood of the NBBA  He is optimistic, however, He 
foreseeing an increase in the number of teams participating in
next year's World Series.
     Braille Institutes in southern California hope to make youth
tournaments an annual event.  The next season is expected to
start in June.
     Meanwhile, Alex  Valdez, a member of the Whittier Chapter of
CCB, is trying to start an adult team in northern Orange County. 
He doesn't yet have a complete roster, but he has registered the
team name, the Orange County Quakes, with the NBBA.  Others are
attempting  to launch teams in San Diego and southern Orange
County.
     To volunteer for Braille  Institute youth beepball or to
donate equipment, call Wendi Kjar at 714-821-5000, extension
1232.
     RULES: Rules vary by age bracket, skill level and region.
For instance, under adult rules established by the National Beep
Baseball Association, a sighted pitcher pitches to all batters. 
At the Braille Institute tournament, batters hit off a tee.  Wood
said that batting off a tee can help young players with
coordination and make them less afraid of the ball.  Under both
sets of rules, all batters and fielders are blindfolded,
regardless of how much or little eyesight they possess.  The
exceptions are umpires, field spotters, catchers and pitchers.
     The field has two rather than three bases. They are placed
at 3 and 9 o'clock from the batter, similar to the positions of
first and third base in traditional baseball.  The bases are
60-to-100 feet from home plate, depending on the players' age. 
The batter does not know which way to run until the umpire buzzes
one of the bases.
     When asked the difference between baseball and beepball,
Wood replied, "Our umpires are sighted," referring to the
long-standing joke that baseball umpires must be blind because of
the bad calls they are so frequently purported to make.
     Here are the rules used for the Nov. 11 Braille Institute
tournament:  
      1.  Contests are six innings in duration.  The batter is
allowed four strikes before being called out.  Four balls are
considered strikes.
     2. Each team is allowed three outs per time at bat.
     3. An out is recorded either by a strike out or when a fair
ball is cleanly fielded by a defensive player, prior to the
runner getting to base.  The defensive player must have a
definite, in-hands, off-the-ground possession of the ball, in the
opinion of the umpire, to be called out.  Each team has no more
than seven players in the outfield.
     4. A fair ball is one that travels at least 10 feet from the
home plate and remains within the foul line.  Any part of a
runner's body that makes contact with the base constitutes
possession of the base.  No verbal assistance may be given to the
runner as the buzzing base is activated or as the whistle is
blown indicating the position of the base.
     5. The umpire announces strikes, outs and safe, has
responsibility for keeping score and has the power to eject
unruly players from the game.
     6. If the score is tied at the end of regulation play, the
game is continued into extra innings until a clear winner is
determined.
     7. A minimum of one,  but no more than two, spotters assist
the defensive team in positioning players on the field before a
ball is hit.  The spotter may call numbers one through seven to
designate the person in the best position to field the ball.
     8. If the ball has a chance of injuring a defensive player,
the spotter may yell out a warning to the player.  The coach or
spotter may knock the ball down.   
     9. The base operator has the responsibility of warning
runners and fielders of impending collisions. 
 

            THE ASSOCIATION ON MULTICULTURAL CONCERNS 

                        by Teddie Remhild

     The newly elected Board of Directors of the Association on
Multicultural Concerns is pleased to announce that Project Unity
is alive and well and going full speed ahead.  AMC's Project
Unity was first conceived two years ago and is now energetically
back on track.  It connects us to blind and visually impaired
persons in other countries who do not have access to the basic
tools for independence.  We are in touch with Dr. Wilfredo
Guzman, President of the National Confederation of People with
Disabilities of Peru.  Blind persons there are in need of canes,
slates and styluses, braille paper, and monetary donations if
preferred.  The population of blind and visually impaired persons
in that very poor country is large, as well as people with other
disabilities.  Dr. Guzman also mentioned the need for wheelchair
parts or repair kits.  AMC's goal is to collect as many of these
items as possible by the end of our spring convention.  Items can
be brought to the convention in Sacramento or sent to one of AMC
board members.  For further information call Lillian Scaife, AMC
President, at 562-494-4306; e-mail: lmscaife@msn.com; or call Don
Brown, AMC First Vice-President, at 510-528-1744 or e-mail:
dlb123@mindspring.com.  Other
AMC Board members are Teddie Remhild, 2nd Vice President;
Patricia LaFrance-Wolf, Secretary; and Charles Nabarrete,
Treasurer.


         CRUCIAL POINTS OF CONTENTION IN DEBATE OVER UEBC

                       by Christopher Gray 

     At its fall meeting this year in Minneapolis, the Braille
Authority of North America (BANA) elected a new chairperson,
Eileen Curran from National Braille Press.  It was my great
pleasure to serve for several years with Eileen on BANA, and I am
very pleased for her to have achieved this position.  As a
visually impaired person herself and a teacher of educators of
blind children, Eileen brings a depth of understanding to the
appointment that is important to the blind community.  
     Even in this early stage of her tenure, she has shown a
willingness to listen and respond to consumers' concerns about
the Unified Braille Code, already leading to some spirited
debates on a computer mailing list referred to as the BRL ZYLX
(Braille as you like it) list.  In this article, I share with you
a sample of these debates because this discussion points out some
of the basic differences of opinion between those who support and
those who oppose the UBC as it is presently constituted.  For
those readers who may not know this, Eileen Curran leans toward
support of UBC though, as BANA Chairperson, she has promised to
keep an open mind and listen to all sides of the debate.  On the
ZYLX list, she is receiving lots of input.  
     In our exchange, Chairperson Curran raises two fundamental
points in support of UBC.  In many ways, they are the crux of the
current disagreement.  I shall quote her first point as nearly as
I can.
     "I do believe the Nemeth Code is an excellent code for math
and science notation.  It has served us well.  But I don't think
it should be the base for a unified braille code, one that will
be used by current braille readers who don't know Nemeth.  
Unfortunately, that is the majority of current braille-reading 
adults.  We need to start with a base that can be read by all
current readers."
     My response: The basic points in this paragraph are two: Ms.
Curran states that most people can't read Nemeth Code, therefore
it should not be the base of a new code.  Both the logic of this
argument and the argument itself are flawed.  First, can it truly
be asserted that "most" blind adults cannot read Nemeth Code? 
The answer to this question is unavailable, and any opinion about
it is based strictly on anecdotal information and conjecture.  We
must look further than the simple question itself to glean the
truth and attempt to find an answer. 
     Thus, I ask myself if I can read Nemeth Code.  The answer is
a firm "yes" and "no".  The true answer is I can read the Nemeth
Code that I need to read.  For example, I don't read much
geometry these days; so if faced with the need to read geometry,
I may need to consult a Nemeth manual.  But the basics of Nemeth
I can always read.  I assert that the vast majority of blind
adult readers can read, and very often write, the basics of
Nemeth Code.  As President of the Braille Revival League, I get a
lot of braille correspondence from blind adults, and quite a bit
of it uses the dropped (Nemeth) numbers as a matter of course. 
Similarly, I make many presentations about braille to groups of
blind people where I often cite the need for change and updating
of the literary braille code by mentioning that literary braille,
as constituted today, has no official plus sign.  At virtually
every presentation, I am challenged on this statement and told,
sometimes very heatedly, that the plus sign is dots 3-4-6 (the
plus sign in Nemeth Code) and why don't I know this?  In short,
people have so deeply incorporated the basics of Nemeth Code into
their thinking that they don't even regard it as a separate code. 
It is their code in an overall sense, and it has been our code
for fifty years.  There is no reason not to use it as the base
for a unified code.
     What if I am wrong?  Suppose the majority of adult braille
readers really don't know Nemeth Code.  Would that make the above
assertion any more true?  I argue that it would not because, even
if a majority of readers do not know Nemeth Code, a strong
minority do know it.  If they don't, then we have educated
several generations of idiots when it comes to math and science,
given that large numbers of braille readers since the mid-1960s,
and smaller numbers in the 1950s, must almost certainly have been
required to read school books written in that code.  The Nemeth
Code began to be systematized and used in 1952.  A clear,
specific decision was made at that time to abandon Taylor Code
and take a different road in transcribing math.  The UBC research
project never envisioned the wholesale abandonment of those fifty
years when the idea of a unified code was first conceived.  I
know that as a firsthand participant in the initial discussion. 
The waste of time and books was deemed to be totally
unacceptable, and the loss of knowledge by generations of
readers, immeasurable.  
     Ms. Curran's paragraph quoted above begins by acknowledging
that Nemeth Code is "an excellent code for math and science" and
"served us well".  One can only wonder why we would not use such
a code as the basis for further progress. 
     Going back now to major points.  Chairperson Curran raises a
second, fundamental point of discussion regarding dual numbering
systems.  ("Upper numbers" in this discussion refer to those used
in literary braille in all the books and magazines we read;
"lowered numbers" use the lower four dots of the braille cell.) 
Here is her paragraph: 
     "We have so many headaches with our current numbering
systems.  If we use upper numbers, they conflict with letters of
the alphabet.  If we use lower numbers, they conflict with
punctuation.  But if you look at any print book available today,
you will find more number/punctuation combinations than
number/letter combinations, even in algebra.  With upper numbers,
you have far less need for letter signs than you would
punctuation indicators with lower numbers.  French numbers are
the answer."  (French numbers are formed by adding dot 6 to the
numbers as we know them; but there is a problem, since the 0 can
obviously not be formed in that way.) 
     My response: The point here is an attempt to discredit the
use of lower numbers because of the need for a punctuation
indicator from time to time.  If this were such an overarching
problem, how is it that we have been unaware of it for these
fifty years of Nemeth transcription?  I served as a member of
BANA's own Mathematics and Technical Codes Subcommittee from 1982
through 1998.  Never was this problem even suggested to the
committee by BANA, transcribers, educators, or readers.  This is
simply one of the few debating points that could be conjured up
by those opposed to Nemeth Code in an attempt to discredit it.  I
have read lots of Nemeth Code in my life, and never have I been
disturbed by the need for an occasional punctuation indicator and
neither has anybody else.  For one thing, punctuation occurs at
the end of a mathematical sequence.  Letter-number combinations
occur throughout many mathematical constructs.
     Further, I do not believe that there are more punctuation
indicators in a Nemeth transcription than letter-signs in a UBC
transcription.  This has never been demonstrated with real
samples from real books.  It has been claimed by Joe Sullivan
based on casual observations of some math books, and that's all. 
We do not here have the basis for any sort of decision-making.  
     I challenge BANA to show concretely how the punctuation
indicator poses a greater problem to Nemeth readers than the
letter sign in UBC would pose to future readers.  It is incumbent
upon BANA and the International Council on English Braille (ICEB)
to prove this deficiency in order even to begin to justify the
wholesale dumping of fifty years of work by BANA and its
predecessor organizations in the fields of math, science and
computer notation.  
     In summary, the crux of this argument comes down to
numbering systems.  UBC wishes us to use an upper-number-only
system.  Using solely upper numbers has been abandoned by every
mathematical system of braille known to exist in the western
world, including the British and the French.  While there is
disagreement on what to do about numbers, it is an undeniable
fact that no currently adopted system of math and science uses
only the upper numbers.  That is more universal than any tenet
proposed or suggested in the currently proposed Unified Braille
Code. 


         SUMMARY OF FALL 2000 CCB CONVENTION RESOLUTIONS 

            by Jeff Thom, Chair, Resolutions Committee

     Eight resolutions were discussed and adopted at the 2000
fall convention.  Below is a summary.  
     200b-1 expressed our appreciation to the convention
volunteers.    
     2000B-2 expressed our appreciation to the Crowne Plaza Hotel
staff.    
     2000B-3 called upon the CCB to seek reintroduction of
Assembly Bill 368, which required that low vision aids be a
covered benefit under Medi-Cal, health care service plans, and
health insurance policies.    
     2000B-4 urged the organization to seek enactment of
legislation to establish a California Pedestrian Access and
Safety Commission.  
     2000B-5 demanded that all law enforcement and prosecutorial
agencies enforce, to the fullest extent possible, the White Cane
Law and all other laws protecting blind and visually impaired
pedestrians, and urged local chapters to assist in ensuring that
this resolution be implemented.    
     2000B-6 requested the Secretary of State to distribute taped
versions of the voter pamphlet to the libraries at an earlier
date for distribution to consumers sufficiently in advance to
allow time for reading  the pamphlet prior to election day. 
          2000B-7 called upon the organization to advocate for
specified standards for detectable warning surfaces under the
ADA.      
     2000B-8 strongly urged the Braille Authority of North
America to convene regional conferences--or a single national
conference--of persons dependent upon, and skillful in, the
Nemeth Code, where these persons will be presented with typical
problems in both Nemeth Code and the proposed Unified English
Braille Code so that they can ask questions, make comparisons,
and render recommendations on this proposed code.


              OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE: A CALL TO ACTION

                   by Melita Waters, President,
                  Guide Dog Users of California 

     On September 17, 2000, the San Diego Union Tribune published
an article describing the training of "Service Dogs For Victims
of Assault".  These dogs are being trained to protect their
handlers from perceived threats by protective behaviors like
barking and growling.  The dogs are being issued as Service
Animals, claiming compliance with ADA Title III and the
appropriate regulations which permit issuance of dogs trained for
minimal protection work.  As Service Animals, they are claiming
all access rights under the ADA. 
     The handlers who obtain these dogs are claiming a mental
disability, and the people who train the dogs are advertising
that the ADA Title III is the "Hidden Disabilities Act".  We have
been informed that fifteen of these dogs have been issued in
California and two have been issued out of state.  I'm also
informed that training of these protection dogs has spread to
several other states, namely Oregon, Arizona, Connecticut and
Vermont.  It took no time at all for this provision of the ADA to
be seized on.
     A basic requirement for legitimate Service Dogs is a gentle
disposition, non-threatening and non-aggressive.  The privileges
of access enjoyed by guide dogs, service dogs, and signal 
dogs could not have been attained were this not the case. 
Putting out dogs as service animals trained to be even minimally
aggressive will destroy the acceptance by the public of service
dogs and result in no access at all for legitimate guide, service
and signal Dogs.
     Issuance of these protection animals as "Service Animals," "
in accordance with the ADA, cannot be allowed to continue.  They
may be legitimately acquired by someone who wants one as a
companion, but not be allowed the appellation "Service Animal"
with the access rights that go with that label.
     Guide Dog Users of California is extremely concerned about
this matter.  We fear the loss of our access and of the
confidence of the public; and we fear meeting one of these dogs
on the street, in a restaurant or store or anywhere else.  Our
dogs move with purpose and could be perceived as a threat by one
of these "Protection Dogs".
     GDUC has decided to take all action necessary to 1) stop the
issuance of these dogs as Service Animals, and, 2) get the
Department of Justice to amend the ADA regulations to delete
"minimum protection work" from the definition of service animal
and require service animals to be employed only to mitigate a
physical disability.  GDUC is committed to accomplishing these
goals.
     GDUC is aware that other people and organizations share our
concerns.  We are forming a coalition of service animal handlers
and training schools nationwide for this purpose.  We want, and
indeed need, all guide dog users in the state to join us.
     Call either Ken Metz, GDUC Treasurer, at 310-787-0021 or Melita
Waters, President, at 714-836-4993 (e-mail mjwaters@surfree.com)
for information about joining GDUC.  The more members we have,
the stronger our voice is.


                       NEWS FROM SACRAMENTO

        by Dan W. Kysor, Director of Governmental Affairs 

     UPWARD MOBILITY: Greetings from Sacramento!  This has been a
most interesting year, and we truly live in interesting times;
for, as we begin this new year, we see the stars and planets all
coming together for the advancement of legislation which, we
hope, will finally give the blind and visually impaired of
California a Commission for the Blind.  At this writing, we do
not have a bill number; but we do have an author, San Francisco
Democrat, Senator John Burton.  Senator Burton won his final term
(he already completed his allowed terms in the Assembly) this
last fall in an easy victory over Republican Terrence Falkner. 
The Senator is well known to our organization since he has
authored several bills for us.  
     He began his legislative career in 1974 when he won his
first seat in the Assembly.  Many CCB members were present at the
Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind several years ago when he
presided over our legislative seminar that year.  
     WE NEED YOU: We need to hear from you regarding situations
relating to rehabilitation and how it involved you personally. 
Send your comments to me or to anyone on the BARC Committee.
     1999-2000 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY" AB609 Braille Reading
Assessment by Wildman was vetoed.  We were quite surprised that
the Governor vetoed this bill, the NFBC Braille Bill.  It would
have strengthened the ability of teams in the Individualized
Education Plan (IEP) process to assess functionally blind pupils
to determine the usefulness of braille. The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires this process.  The
bill also would have required publishers to make their textbooks
accessible to those preparing materials for use by blind and
visually impaired students. 
     AB2757, Telephonic Reading System, by Wright was vetoed.  
This measure would have created a state-wide toll free number for
print-impaired individuals to listen to newspapers, periodicals,
shopping ads etc.  We understand that this veto was an accident
and the Governor's office assures us that the Governor will
support a similar bill in the next session.
     SB929, Expansion of practice/optometrists, by Polanco,
Chapter 676, was signed into law, though CCB opposed it.  It
allows optometrists limited treatment options formerly restricted
to ophthalmologists.
     AB368,  Low Vision Prosthetic Devices Funding, by  Kuehl, 
died midway through the legislative process.  It would have
allowed optical aids and durable medical aids relating to low
vision to be funded by Medi-cal or HMO's.  The author has
promised to re-introduce this bill in the next session.
     AB2185, Newborn/Infant Eye Screening, by Gallegos Chapter
325, was signed into law.  It requires all newborns to be
screened for glaucoma, retinal blastoma and other harmful eye
diseases.
     AB2189, Limits on ADA, by Baldwin, was killed.  It was
similar to the federal bill in the House of Representatives which
went down to defeat, HR3590.  The state version did not have a
chance and never made it out of committee.  The measure would
have imposed a 90-day waiting period for citizens to sue for ADA
violations.
     AB2222, Reasonable Accommodation/Mitigating Measures, by 
Kuehl plugs several loopholes in the federal ADA by prohibiting
employers from discriminating on the basis of past illnesses or
medical conditions. 
     AB1792, Disabled Placard Enhancements, by  Villaraigosa,
Chapter 524.  This bill strengthens penalties against violators
who illegally park in disabled parking places or who use disabled
placards. 
     SB1633, Special Education Publisher and Braille Assessment,
by Alpert, vetoed.  This special education bill had language
similar to that of the NFBC Braille Bill with respect to
publishers making their textbooks accessible and requiring an IEP
assessment of braille useage; but the Governor stated that these
provisions went beyond the scope of IDEA.  
     SB1774, Digital Divide/Libraries, by  Bowen, vetoed.  This
bill would have made available $1.5 million to provide, for blind
and disabled library patrons, internet computer access adaptive
hardware and software.  Assemblywoman Carole Migden brought this
problem forward in a fiscal hearing but the Governor vetoed the
measure.
     AB2152, Medi-Cal Durable-Medical Devices, by Aroner,
Chaptered.  This bill gives parents the ability to get equipment
funded by Medi-cal  to help them in raising their children. 
     WHAT'S NEXT: Our agenda is certainly full for the current
session, 2001-2002; and we will need your help.  Besides the
Commission Bill, we are seeking legislation for a Business
Enterprises Program (BEP) Revolving Loan measure; for two guide
dog bills, one giving a tax deduction for assistive dog expenses
and the other bringing the SSDI assistive dog allowance from $35
to the SSI allowance of $50; for a measure extending the State
Guide Dog Board; and for a mandate to establish a pedestrian
safety access commission.
     We will, of course, have more on our legislative agenda on
the California Connection, on our listserv and in future issues
of the BC.  We will be calling upon all to assist in the busy
2001-2002 legislative session.
     HISTORIC CCB LEGISLATION IMPACTS CALIFORNIA ADA: Senate Bill
124, Now Law, Chapter 989, by  Deborah Ortiz.  This historic bill
Requires the California Department of General Services to finally
develop regulations that ensure that braille, tactile or visual
signage for elevators, rooms, spaces, functions and directional
information is installed as required by the California Building
Standards Code.  This bill also corrects accessibility law
administration by eliminating the California leased buildings
"50% rule" thus complying for the first time with the Americans
with Disabilities Act.  In the past, buildings rented by a
government entity for a period of less than two years did not
need to meet accessibility requirements; now this loophole, which
has existed for 25 years, is closed.
     We have made important changes to the "Access for
Handicapped Account", a fee-based account supposedly used to pay
for checking to ensure that buildings are properly inspected for
accessibility.  We renamed the account, the "Disability Access
Account" and have remedied a loophole which froze this account,
thus keeping the Department from using it.  We have modernized
the account and,  not only is there more than $8 million now
available for the required checking, but it can be used for
amending and improving access regulations.  The strength of this
important disability access legislation is in the combined
changes it will bring to effective and clear access regulations. 
It gives the Department of General Services the tools needed to
finally enforce disability access in all public buildings,
including schools.
     You may contact me on the issues raised in this report at
any time at my Sacramento office telephone 916-648-3936;  e-mail-
dankysor@jps.net



                             READERS

                   submitted by Kenneth Frasse

     Who says the electorate is illiterate?  Here is an e-mail
"analysis" making the rounds of typical readers of newspapers:
     The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the
country.
     The New York Times is read by people who think they run the
country.
     The Washington Post is read by people who think they ought
to run the country.
     USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the
country but who don't understand the Washington Post.
     The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind
running the country if they could spare the time.
     The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run
the country.
     The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too
sure who's running the country.
     The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's
running the country as long as they do something scandalous.
     The National Inquirer is read by people who believe space
aliens are running the country. 


                       FEDERAL LEGISLATION
  
                         by Ahmad Rahman
  
     Garrett v. Alabama: The March for Justice held October 3rd in
  Washington D.C. was a national rally of disability advocates in protest to
  recent attacks in the courts and Congress on the civil rights of people with
  disabilities.  This rally centered on the Garrett case which calls into
  question the constitutionality of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
     Garrett v. University of Alabama is the latest in a series of cases
  brought by state governments challenging the constitutionality of Title 11
  of the ADA.  The state of Alabama and its supporters are arguing that
  Congress had no authority to apply the ADA to state governments or to
  allow people with disabilities to sue state governmental entities for failure
  to comply with the ADA.  The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in
  this case in October; the decision when reached could have a devastating
  impact on the civil rights of people with disabilities.  It could mean that we
  have to rely on each state to enact its own civil rights protection for the
  disabled, and there is not much historical precedent for that action in most
  states.
     ADA Notification Act: Senator Tim Hutchinson (R Arkansas)
  introduced S3122, a companion bill to HR3590, to amend the ADA by
  allowing a 90-day grace period before legal action could be taken against
  violators of the accessibility provisions of Title III of the ADA.  Title III is
  weak so that legal action is the only recourse for persons denied
  accessibility.  The Americans with Disabilities Act has been in effect for
  10 years, and the necessity for public accommodations needs to be stressed
  to comply with the ADA as with all other civil rights mandates. Places
  open to the public should not be allowed an additional 90-day period to
  continue violating the civil rights of disabled citizens. 
     Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Coverage Act of 1999: Medicare
  pays for rehabilitation services for people who have broken a hip or
  suffered a stroke but currently provides no reimbursement for
  rehabilitation for people with vision loss.  HR2870 is landmark legislation
  that would provide Medicare reimbursement for services provided by
  vision rehabilitation professionals.  In September, 1999, Congressman
  Michael Capnuan of Massachusetts introduced the bill in the House of
  Representatives.  It would represent a significant advance in providing
  people who are blind or visually impaired with access to much needed
  services that can enhance their safety, functional abilities and quality of
  life.  HR2870 is a first step toward more comprehensive coverage.
     Why Medicare should cover vision rehabilitation services: This
  coverage would reduce health care and dependency costs, increase
  personal safety, and improve quality of life.  HR2870 would make
  qualified orientation and mobility specialist, rehabilitation teachers and low
  vision therapists (three types of professionals specifically trained in how to
  restore the functional abilities of people with vision loss) eligible providers
  under Medicare.  The legislation will provide all older Americans the same
  access to the services of these specialized professionals,  as veterans have
  had for decades.  Department of Veterans Affairs blind and low vision
  rehabilitation services, which are funded by federal appropriations and
  other sources, are based on a medical model.  In DVA hospitals and
  outpatient facilities, orientation and mobility specialist, rehabilitation
  teachers and low vision therapists are essential members of the multi-
  disciplinary vision rehabilitation team.
  
  
  
                          BULLETIN BOARD
  
                          by Keith Black
  
     New Treatment for Macular Degeneration: (Taken from The
  Lantern, publication of the Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind, San
  Francisco, California.) 
     The Food and Drug Administration has just approved Visudyne
  therapy for treatment of the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. 
  Visudyne therapy is a two-step procedure that can be performed in a
  doctor's office.  Typically, patients need additional treatments after several
  months.  The FDA cautions that, while this treatment slows retinal
  damage, it does not completely stop vision loss and does not restore lost
  vision.  CibaVision, the company that is marketing Visudyne in the United
  States, provides more information on their Web site www.cibavision.com.
  
  *****          *****           *****           *****
     Special Medicare Project: A couple of years ago a bill was passed
  exempting Medicare Plan recipients who meet the income guidelines (less
  than $960 in income per month plus no more than $4,000 in resources for
  a single individual) from paying the $45.50 per month to participate in the
  Plan B section which covers durable medical equipment, etc.  The Social
  Security Administration has had very little success in finding people to sign
  up for the program.
     Social Security decided to fund an advertising/marketing company to
  "get the word out" to eligible individuals who either don't participate in the
  program because they can't afford the $45.50 per month or because they
  are not aware that the program exists.
     Lighthouse for the Blind has been asked to notify as many people as
  possible about the program and assist them in signing up.  If San Francisco
  is a successful pilot, they will expand the outreach efforts to other parts of
  the state and nation.
     We will be receiving information soon that can be given directly to
  clients we see who might meet the income criteria.  A PSA will be
  broadcast on BSB and further information will appear in the Lantern.
     Currently, only 118 Medicare recipients in San Francisco participate
  in the program.  It is estimated that as many as 30,000 may be eligible.
  
  *****          *****          *****          *****
     From the Matilda Ziegler Magazine, September, 2000: Tactile
  Maps.  The Princeton Braillists group has two new products available: 
  Maps of the BIBLE LANDS--Old Testament, a set of 25 detailed maps
  with no descriptive background that are designed for serious students.  The
  set costs $22, with Free Matter shipping.  Available for $10 are Maps of
  the British Isles, a set of 11 maps covering England, Wales, Scotland and
  Ireland.  Contact the Princeton Braillists, 28B Portsmouth Street, Whiting,
  NJ 08759; 732-350-3708 or 609-924-5207.  Credit cards are not accepted.  
     Word 2000.  BRAWL Inc.'s Verbal View of Word 2000 is a
  comprehensive tutorial for Microsoft Word 2000 written for blind users. 
  Standard print or cassette costs $75; large print or braille costs $85; and
  diskette or e-mail costs $45.  Purchase orders are accepted from businesses
  and agencies.  Call 877-993-4994.  
     From the Matilda Ziegler Magazine, October, 2000: Tape
  Bookmark.  The Talking Book Marker is a small switch that plugs into a
  jack near the headphone jack of your cassette player.  You hold down this
  switch while listening to the tape.  If your grip relaxes as you fall asleep,
  the switch is released and the talking book player stops, thus marking your
  place.  Contact Jim Daily, 835 Emma, Butte, MT 59701, 406-782-2202;
  E-mail jandmdaily@yahoo.com or visit www.angelfire.com/mt/jdaily.  
     Transcribing Service.  Braille Lynques is a braille transcribing
  service for literary material only.  They can scan print, floppy disk files,   
  E-mail files, etc.  Contact the company at 8550 W. Charleston Blvd. #102-
  101, Las Vegas, NV 89117; 877-799-3687 or 702-313-1100; (fax) 702-
  313-3456; e-mail braille@yumston.com; or visit
  www.yumston.com/braille.  
     From the Matilda Ziegler Magazine, November, 2000: E-mail
  Directory.  The 2000 Blind Community E-mail Directory contains listings
  for everything from a blind scuba divers' club in England to APH, as well
  as hundreds of individuals.  It costs $10 in braille or on diskette from
  National Braille Press, 800-548-7323, or send E-mail to orders@nbp.org.  
     Talking Pager.  CPR Technology sells a small numeric display
  pager, with vibration and audio alerts, that enunciates any of the numeric
  messages stored in its 16 memories.  It comes with a belt holster and a
  safety chain.  The pager, which sells for $99, requires the separate
  purchase of paging services to be operational.  Paging service starts at
  $8.99 per month.  Also, the company seeks distributors for this product. 
  Contact CPR Technology, 640 Dean Street, Brooklyn, NY 11238; 877-
  277-5327, or visit www.talkingpager.com.  
     Labels.  Claudia Del Real, 2346 Birch Ave., Whiting, IN 46394,
  sells customized print address labels or Free Matter labels, $5 for 250. 
  Call E-Voice at 800-222-6000 and leave a message in her mailbox,
  #252834226, or send E-mail to claudiad@comnetcom.net.  
     From 
  Dialog Magazine, Fall 2000: Outspoken Ensemble 3.0 is Alva Access
  Group's most current screen reader with braille and speech output for
  Windows 98 or 95.  The new features include:  a multilingual speech
  synthesizer and compatibility with Microsoft Office 2000 and other
  applications.  Alva also has a new series of portable and desktop braille
  displays.  Contact Alva Access Group at 
  888-318-2582 or 510-923-6285; Web site www.aagi.com.  
  
  
               SECTION 8 NOW ALLOWS HOME OWNERSHIP
  
             by Jay Klein, submitted by Gene Lozano 
  
     On Tuesday, September 12, 2000, HUD released the final rule that
  will allow individuals and families to use Section 8 vouchers for Home
  ownership.  It has taken many years and a tremendous amount of hard
  work from many of you receiving this e-mail to make this happen.  The
  new rule is effective October 12, 2000.  There is much to celebrate in this
  new rule.
     The use of Section 8 vouchers for home ownership will give many
  Americans who have low incomes the opportunity to purchase their own
  homes.  In addition, the use of Section 8 vouchers for home ownership will
  provide many new opportunities for people to contribute to their local
  economy.  Home ownership will allow individuals and families to obtain
  loans from their local banks, hire members of their communities to
  perform maintenance and repair work on their homes, and pay property
  taxes that contribute to the purchase of local services enjoyed by
  community members.  Home owners express a feeling of greater safety,
  security, and belonging in their communities.  Public Housing Authorities
  (PHAs) that choose to participate in the Home ownership Program can: 
     1) Allow eligible individuals and families to convert current Section
  8 vouchers from rental supplements to mortgage supplements, and 
     2) Allow future eligible individuals and families to choose between
  mortgage subsidies and rental subsidies.
     HUD anticipates that mortgage lenders will consider the Section 8
  assistance when underwriting a loan.
     The home ownership option will assist families in two types of
  housing:
     1) A unit owned by the family--one or more family members hold
  title to the home.
     2) A cooperative unit--one or more family members hold
  membership shares in the cooperative.
     The final rule on home ownership released by HUD includes
  provisions that:
     1) One or more adult members of the family need to be employed at
  time of commencement of assistance for at least 30 hours per week.  The
  employment requirement does not apply to an elderly family or a disabled
  family.  Furthermore, if a family, other than an elderly family or a
  disabled family, includes a person with disabilities, the PHA must grant an
  exemption from the employment requirement if the PHA determines that
  an exemption is needed as a reasonable accommodation so that the
  program is readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.
     2) A national minimum (gross) income requirement (of adult family
  at time of commencement) that is equal to 2,000 hours of annual full-time
  work at the federal minimum wage.  The PHA must count welfare
  assistance of an elderly or disabled family in determining whether the
  family meets the minimum income requirement for home ownership
  assistance.  (Welfare assistance is defined as: "Welfare or other payments
  to families or individuals, based on need, that are made under programs
  funded, separately or jointly, by Federal, State or local governments."  24
  CFR 5.603)
  3) It is possible to switch from Section 8 home ownership voucher
  assistance to rental voucher assistance, and vice-versa, after a mortgage
  default and at other times.
     4) A family determined eligible for home ownership assistance by
  the initial PHA may purchase a unit outside of the initial PHA's
  jurisdiction, if the receiving PHA is administering a voucher home
  ownership program and is accepting new home ownership families.
     5) A homeownership family may purchase another home with
  Section 8
   assistance provided there is no mortgage loan default.  The family must
  sell its current home in order to purchase another with home ownership
  assistance.
     6) PHAs will recapture a percentage of homeownership assistance
  defined in the regulations upon the sale or refinancing of the home.  Sales
  proceeds that are used by the family to purchase a new home with Section
  8 home ownership assistance are not subject to recapture.
      7) A family may refinance their home to take advantage of lower
  interest rates, or better mortgage terms, without any recapture penalty. 
  Only those proceeds realized upon refinancing that are retained by the
  family (for example during a "cash-out" of the refinanced debt) are subject
  to the program recapture provision.
     8) Two kinds of physical inspections are required (in addition to, and
  separate from, any lender required inspections): an HQS inspection by the
  PHA and an independent professional home inspection by an inspector
  used in the private market by homebuyers.
     9) Section 8 home ownership assistance can be used for a family that
  purchases a home that the family previously occupied under a
  "lease-purchase agreement" --generally a lease with option to purchase.
     10) The family attend home ownership counseling sessions.  
     11) The family enter into a contract of sale with the seller and that
  the family secures its own financing for the home purchase.
     12) Home ownership housing assistance payments may be made
  directly to the family or to lender on behalf of the family.
     13) At least one percent of the purchase price comes fromm the
  family's personal resources.  
     14) A mandatory term limit on home ownership assistance of 15
  years if the initial mortgage incurred to finance purchase of the home has a
  term that is 20 years or longer.  In all other cases, the maximum term of
  home ownership assistance is 10 years.  The PHA may not establish
  shorter or longer maximum terms.  The final rule provides that the
  maximum term limit does not apply to elderly or disabled families.
     15) If a member of the family is a person with disabilities, eligible
  home ownership expenses may include debt incurred to finance costs
  needed to make the home accessible for the family member, if the PHA
  determines that the allowance is needed as a reasonable accommodation.
  
     16) If the home is a cooperative or condominium unit, home
  ownership expenses may include cooperative or condominium operating
  charges or maintenance fees assessed by the condominium or cooperative
  homeowner association.
     17) The PHA must approve a live-in aide if needed as a reasonable
  accommodation so that the program is readily accessible to and useable by
  persons with disabilities.
     18) The additional requirements for continuation of home ownership
  assistance established by the PHA may include a requirement for
  post-purchase homeownership counseling or for periodic unit inspections
  while the family is receiving home ownership assistance.
     A complete copy of the new Section 8 Homeownership Rule can be
  viewed and downloaded in both text and PDF formats from the National
  Home of Your Own Alliance website at:
   http://alliance.unh.edu
  
  
                 IRS DISABILITY-RELATED QUESTIONS
  
                     From Lisa LaNell Mauldin
                   submitted by Roger Petersen 
  
     The following is not intended as legal advice required for  preparing
  a tax return.  A qualified tax preparer should be consulted to assist with
  your return.  This article may give you some ideas for asking them
  questions.
     The Basics: IRS helps the disabled hold on to financial health. 
  There's at least one good thing about the tax code; it extends a lot of help
  to people coping with long-term physical problems.  Here's a guide to tax
  breaks for the disabled prepared by Jeff Schnepper.
     There are some injustices in this world we cannot do anything about. 
  A loved one is hurt in a car accident and can't walk.  A child is born deaf. 
  You suffer debilitating pain every day from arthritis, and the only solace is
  being able to swim in a pool filled with warm water.  
      As much as we like to put down our tax code and the people who
  write it, this is one case where the tax code and its authors rise to the
  occasion.
     Parts of the code are written to help people with disabilities and to
  encourage businesses to spend the money necessary to allow people with
  disabilities to get by.  The code's not perfect, as you'll see, but the
  provisions are there.  Use them, and they can save you money.  Here are
  the big breaks for individuals. 
     Additional standard deduction: This is designed for people who are
  aged (defined as age 65) or those who are blind.  The IRS will classify you
  as 65 or older for the year 2000 if your 65th birthday falls on Jan. 1, 2001
  or earlier.
   You are considered "blind" if your central visual acuity doesn't exceed
  20/200 in your better eye with corrective lenses or if the diameter of your
  visual field subtends an angle of 20 degrees or less.  For 2000, this
  additional standard deduction for the aged or blind is $850 for each
  taxpayer on a joint return, or $1,100 if you're unmarried and not a
  surviving spouse.
     Medical expenses to cope with disabilities: In addition to medical
  insurance, drugs, hospital and physician costs, the disabled can deduct:
  special equipment; such as motorized wheelchairs, hand controls on a car
  and special telephones for the deaf; special items, including false teeth,
  artificial limbs, eyeglasses, hearing aids, crutches, Braille books and guide
  dogs for the blind; the cost of special school programs for children with
  attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; the cost of programs and
  prescriptions to help you stop smoking (we have to note you can't deduct
  the costs of over-the-counter patches and anti-smoking chewing gum);
  radical keratotomy surgery to correct your vision; meals and lodging
  where you get medical treatment, including treatment for alcoholism or
  drug addiction.
     Special care: payments may also be included in your deductible
  medical expenses for special schools for people who are mentally or
  physically disabled.  These include tutoring expenses incurred on a
  doctor's orders for someone with severe learning disabilities caused by a
  nervous system disorder, or for teaching Braille to the blind or lip reading
  to the deaf.  Payments to a nonprofessional for giving "patterning"
  exercises (coordinated physical manipulation of limbs to imitate crawling
  or other normal movement) to a mentally retarded individual.  Advance
  payments to a private institution for the lifetime care, treatment, or training
  of a mentally or physically disabled individual.  These payments must be
  required as a condition of the institution's future acceptance of the
  individual and can't be refundable.  Expenses paid for the care of an
  invalid individual in your home.  Expenses for special equipment in your
  home.  You can deduct the cost of special equipment installed in a home
  for medical reasons, even if they're capital improvements.  The amount
  spent in excess of the increase in value of your home is allowed as a
  medical deduction.
     Let's say you have a heart condition; and, under doctor's advice,
  you install an elevator in your house so you don't have to climb stairs. 
  The elevator costs $1,000 but only increases the value of your house by
  $700. The $300 difference is an allowed medical expense.
     If you rent, the amount incurred is deductible in full.  So if you have
  arthritis and a bad heart condition and you install a bathroom on the first
  floor of your rented house under doctor's orders, the whole amount you
  pay for the new plumbing is a deductible medical expense.
     Expenses for improvements to accommodate the disabled: the
  Internal Revenue Service lets you deduct in full, as medical expenses,
  home improvements made to accommodate someone in the family who's
  disabled.  These include:  Entrance or exit ramps to the house; widened
  doorways and entrances or exits to the house; widened or modified halls or
  interior doorways; railings, support bars, or other modifications installed
  in bathrooms; lowered or modified kitchen cabinets or equipment; moved
  or altered electrical outlets and fixtures; installation of porch lifts or other
  forms of lifts--but not elevators; modifications to fire alarms, smoke
  detectors and other warning systems; modifications to stairways; new
  handrails and grab bars, whether or not in the bathroom; changes to
  hardware on doors; alterations to areas in front of entrance and exit
  doorways; new grading on your property to provide access to the home. 
  There is, of course, one catch.  If you're claiming expenses as medical
  deductions, you can deduct only the amount of your expenses that exceed
  7.5% of your adjusted gross income.  If you think you may qualify for
  these expenses, consult an accountant or qualified tax  preparer.  
     Business breaks for the disabled: Businesses can deduct the costs of
  removing barriers to the disabled and the elderly.  They also may qualify
  for special credits that reduce their taxes on a dollar-for-dollar basis,
  including: the Work Opportunity Credit.  This is a tax credit for businesses
  that hire individuals from certain targeted groups.  Qualified hires include
  blind or disabled individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income
  (SSI) benefits.  Qualified hires also include people who have gone through
  state vocational-rehabilitation programs with written plans for training and
  job placement.  
     Disabled Access Credit:  A business may qualify for this credit for
  expenses to provide access to persons with disabilities under the Americans
  with Disabilities Act (ADA).  These include not only wheelchair and
  similar access, but also include, for example, expenditures to allow blind
  individuals to access a business Web site.  While none of these special
  credits or deductions will eliminate a disability, they all do stimulate
  activity to improve lives.  On occasion, we can find tax code provisions
  that actually make sense. 
  
  
                      MY EUROPEAN VACATION:
                    FROM RELUCTANCE TO RELISH
  
                         by Bonnie Rennie
  
     Will doing this make me a happier, more interesting person?  How
  can two weeks in Europe do that?  What have I gotten myself into?
  Romance? History? Adventure?  I like all those! That's it! Better to seek
  those enjoyments--well most of them-- in their respective sections of the
  library.  After all, as a visually impaired person, I thought, just how much
  am I going to get out of every time one of my tour-mates says, "Oh, look
  over there! Look at this! Look at that!"
     "You know you'll be glad you went," I continued to insist as I
  packed for the trip.  Never mind missing two weeks of baseball season and
  the most interesting thing to happen in L.A. in a while, the Democratic
  Convention.  This is the perfect opportunity!  Several friends will also be
  going; seeing Europe means a lot to your husband; you always like the
  feeling you get when stretching out of your comfort zone.  Okay, so we're
  going, though, never having been overseas, I would be happier to stick to
  my own continent for a taste of the unknown.
     It all began by word of mouth from a friend some 14 months before
  we ever boarded the plane.  She was eager about this 15-day bus tour
  organized by a travel agent from our church who had lived for many years
  in the part of Europe we intended to visit.  Everything would be planned
  and set up for us including handling our baggage.  All we had to do was to
  be on the bus by 7:30 each morning.  Included in our itinerary were
  Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and brief visits to France and Italy. 
  Several of our friends decided to go, too; and my husband and I realized
  there was no time like the present.
     For two weeks last August, therefore, home was a tour bus large
  enough for the 49 of us and our loquacious Italian/Austrian tour guide. 
  Fortunately for me, he did like to talk and had endless facts and stories
  about all the places we visited, but how can I convey information about all
  that we saw in fifteen days of travel?  
     There were the cities: Frankfurt, which chose to look forward rather
  than back in its rebuilding after the World War; Geneva, located on a lake
  of the same name and proud of its international flavor and of being the
  headquarters of many organizations; Vienna, which I had anticipated
  because of its rich classical music history and status as the Hollywood of
  its time, an ideal place to sit in an outdoor sidewalk cafe and savor a cup of
  Vienna Roast coffee while listening  to the multilingual tourists passing by. 
  We visited the Mozart Cafe, even hearing  a concert of music by Mozart
  and Strauss performed by local students.   Because I am a mental health
  professional, I was intrigued by passing the home of Dr. Sigmund Freud. 
  But alas, no one else was much interested in Dr. Freud, so stopping there
  was not on our itinerary. 
     Then there were the lovely rural areas, the lush green forests and
  rolling hills of Germany, a sight to make nostalgic a girl who had grown
  up in Michigan.  There were the famous places like Saint Moritz and
  Montreaux in
  Switzerland, the first similar to any resort for the very rich and the second
  the location of a well-known jazz festival.
     My favorite place probably was Salzburg, Austria, a city dating back
  to the ninth century, a great example of a real city, knowing its identity and
  proud of it.  Being the birthplace of Mozart and the location of the movie
  "The Sound of Music," it, too, has a fine musical heritage.  From the
  description we were given during our walking tour, I wish I could visit at
  Christmas, for continuous music festivals and often snow.  
     Other things I liked were the various small villages, including the
  restored twelfth-century "Flower Village" of Yveiore, France on Lake
  Geneva and the Bavarian village of Oberrammergau scene of the elaborate
  six-hour
  Passion Play that is presented every 10 years.
     My favorite village, though, was Zermatt, Switzerland, at the foot of
  the Matterhorn, where we stayed for three  nights.  We could step out on
  our deck and hear the loud roar of the glacier-fed river.  When we reached
  the Matterhorn, I held a snowball in my hand at 12,000 feet elevation and
  decided that the Matterhorn at Disneyland would at least have been much
  warmer!      The village of Zermatt is inaccessible by regular car.  Walking
  around and shopping was fun, even though one had to share the streets
  with constant electric taxis that came rushing like the wind.  I told my
  husband, who is hard of hearing, that my ears undoubtedly saved us more
  than once from being run down by a quick electric taxi.   What did I,
  as a blind person, get out of the Trip?  I had always thought that going to
  Europe would not be the best use of my tourist dollar.  I don't know too
  much about the history, let alone the art and other visual aspects of things
  one hears about as popular attractions.  Yet, I wanted to be a good sport
  and knew I would appreciate seeing my husband enjoying the tour.  I was
  also curious about what it would be like to do something totally beyond my
  experience and comfort zone.  I found that my willingness to try something
  new was rewarded in many ways.  We had been told to purchase good
  walking shoes, and there was a great deal of walking and climbing of
  endless stairs, allowing me to get direct contact with the environment and
  weather.  The experience, however, was not so good for our friend who
  uses a wheelchair.  If it hadn't been for all the willing hands from the
  group, he would never have made it across Europe.  There are few
  accommodations for disabled persons where we were,  but there were
  positive signs like the German Braille description of an object in a castle
  and touchable sculpture at another.  Castles were examples of a pleasant
  surprise for me since I had thought that I would not get much out of
  visiting them.  I found, however, that, in the four places we explored, we
  saw how someone actually lived.   
     Prior to our trip, I selected some of the more verbal people  from the
  group and lightheartedly told them, "Be ready for lots of questions from
  me whenever you see something spectacular and say, "Oh, look at that!" 
  Because I want to know all about it.  they often described, without my even
  having to ask.  They said that doing so made them more aware of what
  they were seeing.  
     I especially enjoyed hearing all the languages I am not usually
  exposed to, even here in L.A.:  German, French, Italian, and Eastern
  European languages.  Regrettably, most of our actual experience was
  confined to storekeepers and hotel staff.  I gravitate to the radio, and
  hearing the similarities and the differences throughout Europe was
  fascinating and educational.
  Sometimes the only English on the radio was the omni-present American
  rap music.  I don't understand German or French much, but I loved
  hearing these languages and trying to guess what was going on.  I admit
  that American Armed Forces Radio in Germany and the occasional
  reception of the BBC were a relief.  
     One of the best aspects of the trip was the daily camaraderie that
  developed on the bus, though many of us had not known each other
  beforehand.  Each day held some new adventure, intensified because we
  were totally separated from the familiar media, responsibilities, and
  distractions that normally absorbed our attention.  
     Yes, the tour cost a great deal of money.  The house will have to
  wait to be painted, and there are many outstanding places to see right here
  in the United States.  Still, I gained a great deal from visiting Europe,
  walking in places famous in history; getting a first-hand sense of the
  economies and cultures; being on the continent, if not in the specific area,
  that was the home of some of my ancestors; knowing that I accomplished
  something.   This tour was about stopping to really notice and
  appreciate beauty of whatever kind.  It happened over and over and was a
  great reminder to do that here.  So if an opportunity to do something novel
  presents itself to you, maybe you should grab hold and just go! Happy
  Travels!
  
  
                  CCB OFFICERS, January 1, 2000
  
     (Editor's note: We are indebted to Bernice Kandarian who updated
  and corrected the list of CCB officers and board members,  cluding the
  number of the term each is presently serving and the years covered by that
  term.  We shall publish the list this way at least in issues just preceding
  and following elections and routinely if members wish.)  
  
  President, Catherine Skivers (00-02, 3rd term)
     836 Resota Street 
     Hayward, CA 94545
     510 357-1986
     e-mail ccotb@earthlink.net
  1st Vice President, Jeff Thom (00-01, 1st term)
     7414 Mooncrest Drive
     Sacramento, CA 95831
     916 429-8201
     e-mail jeff.thom@lc.ca.gov
  2nd Vice President, Teddie Remhild (00-01 partial term) 
     1100 W. Olive Ave., #220
     Burbank, CA 91506
     e-mail teddieremhild@earthlink.net 
  Secretary, Kenneth Frasse (99-01, 4th term)
     141 Del Medio Avenue, #223
     Mountain View, CA 94040
     650 941-2421
       e-mail kfrasse@concentric.net
  Treasurer, Peter Pardini (00-02, 1st term) 
     267 Cardinal Road
     Mill Valley, CA 94941
     415-381-9211
     peterpar@pacbell.net
  Past President, Mitch Pomerantz
     1344 North Martel Avenue
     Los Angeles, CA 90046
     323 851-5148
  
  
  
             CCB BOARD OF DIRECTORS, January 1, 2000
  
  Al Biegler, (99-01, 1st term)               
     819 Colusa Street
     Chico, CA 95928-4116
     530 893-8840
       e-mail albiegler1@juno.com
     Martin Jones (99-01, 3rd term)
     730730 Victoria 
     San  Sa   San Francisco, CA 94127
     415 469-8048
  Jane Kardas (99-01, 1st term) 
     rm)810 Maple Street
     Ukiah, CA 95482
     707 468-5510
  Rhonda Marshall King (00-02, 2nd term) 
     6426 Greenback Lane
     Citrus Heights, CA 95621
     916 722-7337
  Barbara Kron (00-02, 1st term), 
     May-November: 8304 Blue Spruce Way, 
     Windsor, CA 95492 
     707-838-9207 
     November-'Apri\, Box 13010, No. 323 
     Yuma, AZ 85366; 
     520-539-1323 
     e-mail badkron@aol.com 
  
     Eugene Lozano, Jr. (99-01, 2nd term)
     3701 Whitney Avenue
     Sacramento, CA 95821
     916 485-8307
          e-mail lozanoe@csus.edu
     Peggy Martinez (99-01, 1st term)
     2510 Cropley Way
     Arcata, CA 95521707 822-3122
  e-mai   e-maill pegmar1@earthlink.net
  Ahmad Rahman (00-02, 2nd term)
     t term19616 Leapwood Avenue
     Carson, CA 90746
     310 327-0463   
  Barbara Rhodes, (00-02, 1st term) 
     6396 Tamalpais Ave., 
     San Jose, CA 95120 
     408-268-2110; 
     e-mail brhodes@pacbell.net
  
                     CCB PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
  
  Joan Black, Chair: 4925 Coke Ave., Lakewood, CA 90712; 
     562-630-2304
  Bernice Kandarian, Vice Chair:  2211 Latham St. #120, Mountain   
      View, CA 94040; 650-969-1688
  Winifred Downing: 1587 38th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94122; 
     415-564-5798
  Brian Hall: 5722 Abraham Ave., Westminster, CA 92683; 
     714-894-3497 
  Maria Lopez: 3925 E. 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90023; 213-268-4526
  Daveed Mandell: 1921 Francisco, #7A, Berkeley, CA 94709-2105; 
     510-665-9260
  Teddie Remhild: 1100 W. Olive, #220, Burbank, CA; 818-848-2475
  Catherine Schmitt: 1356 B South, Diamond Bar Boulevard, Diamond
     Bar, CA 91765 909-861-2931
  Connie Skeen: 3250 Maple Ave., Oakland, CA 94602; 
     510-532-7687
  Dorothy Vallerga: 15361 Norton, San Leandro, CA; 94579; 
     510-352-0522
